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Guinea Pigs needing rescue?
Guinea Pigs are just like dogs and cats and do find themselves in need of a new home. One of the best sites to help these animals out is a place called Guinea Pig Adoption. It is unique because it serves as a Portal for Guinea Pig rescues all over the world. If people are looking for some place to post their Guinea Pigs before they put them up for adoption this is the place to go. The site offers a listing service to help relieve the strain on Guinea Pig Rescue groups by offering a cavy classified. The one rule to post on this site is that you can not have bred your guinea pig on purpose or it can not be listed. It is also a place where people looking for a guinea pig can find one.
This portal also serves as a listing service for Guinea pigs around the world. It is a really great listing service with the only drawback being that the way that they list email addresses is very confusing so if you are looking up a guinea pig rescue please read carefully their explanation as to how to read the email addresses. The rescues are listed by state and they do note that many of the rescues will make arrangements to deliver the guinea pig to you.
Poster
The site also provides a great poster that can be printed out and posted at http://www.cavyrescue.com/poster.htm. This poster is great to print out and post in grocery stores, pet stores and pet supply places to get the word out that there is such a service available. They even offer a great page to help you find ways of promoting the poster including suggestions of places to post it at http://www.cavyrescue.com/promote.htm
Policies
There are too many homeless guinea pigs. Too many guinea pigs in shelters end up being put to sleep for lack of a home and through no fault of their own. The site is dedicated to helping find homes for any guinea pigs who are in shelters or rescues, or in private homes where the situation is such that they must be rehomed. They do not allow any listings from breeders or people who show guinea pigs.
What is the difference between a Shelter and a Rescue?
A shelter is usually an organization associated with the city or county. They may receive monies from the local government or may be supported by contributions, or a combination. Most shelters are not no-kill facilities, that is they put down animals for a variety of reasons, overcrowding at the shelter, health problems, etc. Most shelters are 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, meaning any donations are tax-deductible.
A rescue is usually one person or family operating a rescue out of their home. Very few have separate facilities. Some work with foster homes to spread the animal care to more people. Some have no animals and work purely with foster homes, although that model is found more typically with the larger animals. Some have a few volunteers. Many are funded predominantly by that one person or family and a few contributions. Most are not 501(c)3 non-profits and tend not to get as many donations and therefore need them even more! A rescue usually never comes close to breaking even and always needs contributions of time, supplies, bedding, food, hay, and money.
Why not just take my guinea pig to a shelter or rescue?
The more you can do to find a home for your guinea pig before resorting to a shelter or rescue, the better off we all are. If the rescue has room, they might take the animal. The rescues tend to get calls from the shelters for sick cavies or because of overcrowding. The shelters prefer to keep the adoptables. In either case, whether it is at the shelter or the rescue, surrendered healthy animals take up space and resources that could be devoted to animals in more need.
If a rescue is at, near, or over capacity, others in need of medical care and attention may lose their lives because there are simply not enough resources to care for them. Or needy animals may be put on a waiting list for the rescue. Frequently, the treatment needed is minor, but it is needed none the less.
Another reason to try to find a home on your own is the cost and time and effort involved in caring for just one more cavy. You know it takes time and work. It easy to think that, well, they have so many, one more won't make that much of a difference to them. This is not true. Folks usually bring their cage and accessories to a rescue thinking they are doing the rescue a favor. Not necessarily. Most rescues have their own cage setup and organization. Frequently, a new cage must be made or added to the facility if there is not one currently open or available. More time, money, and energy. Many rescues take top notch care of their animals and spare no expense when it comes to food, bedding, hay, and vet care. Most rescues will probably spend at least twice as much as the typical pet owner on the care and maintenance of that animal. So, just one more cavy can cause a significant increase in the already taxed financial resources of a rescue. A cavy can spend an average of 6 months or more with a rescue before getting adopted out.
Some rescues have limits on the number of animals they can house. Your cavy may have to go on a waiting list. Some rescues ask for a surrender fee. Most rescues spend money, time, and resources in advertising, which you would need to do also. If the rescue doesn't require a surrender fee, you should contribute as much as you can to help the rescue with expenses. Any amount helps, however, a $50 to $100 contribution is reasonable.
Rescue Resources
The website also offers a section on rescue resources. It gives valuable information on how to start your own rescue, places to advertise your rescue and adoption contracts. It also gives you a sample surrender form and information on how to create your own website. One of the discussion areas is on whether to go non-profit or not. A non-profit rescue is one that is incorporated and registered with the IRS as a 501(c)3. As a registered non-profit, donations made to you are tax-deductible and you may apply for grants. The trade-off is the effort involved in the filing and the additional paperwork involved in reporting on a quarterly basis. The larger you become and the more money you need and/or spend, the more it makes sense to look into becoming a non-profit. If you are starting small, don't worry about it.
Cavy Spirit
The site itself is produced by Cavy Spirit which has some wonderful information on it as well. It provides information on sexing guinea pigs, breeding and the reasons not to breed, neutering and spaying of guinea pigs and what to expect and a link to a special site dedicated to guinea pig caging. They had so many requests for information the caging site grew from a small page to an entire site which includes caging, toys, and activities and bedding material. Cavy Spirit also has a great section on kids and guinea pigs.
Adopt a Guinea Pig
Guinea Pigs make great companions. They are affectionate and gentle and are wonderful with children. They are a lot of fun and if they are near the refrigerator they will let you know that they know when you have opened the door! They do have a personality. They do like to be with other guinea pigs. To get more information on their social life please visit http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm
Guinea Pigs usually live between 4-8 years of age and are strictly herbivores. One of the myths associated with guinea pigs is that males can not live together. It depends on the personalities of the guinea pigs. Many, many males live together in pairs or trios and are quite happy with no fights. Some sows will not get along and cannot be housed together. It all depends on the individual guinea pigs. One thing that one needs to always remember is to make sure you trim the guinea pig’s nails. This is a common problem. Guinea pig nails need to be trimmed about once every 4-6 weeks. They can curl and grow back into the pad causing pain and infections. It's very easy to do on your own. If you are looking for a small animal to love and care for think about rescuing a guinea pig.
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Links
Cavy Classified
Rescue Resources
Guinea Pig Caging
Cavy Spirit
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