Thank you for your interest
in adopting a rescued guinea pig! To help you make an informed
decision about adopting, we want to let you know how our cavies
ended up in a shelter and about our intensive adoption process.
How Our Guinea
Pigs Came to Live at JPGPR
These guinea pigs come
to us for a variety of reasons -
Some suffered from abusive neglect and owner ignorance.
Some are no longer wanted by owners who are tired of cleaning
their cages and caring for them.
Some are no longer needed as the kids have grown bored of them.
Some are from irresponsible overcrowded breeders or uncaring
pet shops with dirty cramped conditions.
Some come from other animal shelters that cannot adopt them out
for whatever reason.
Some have actually been found abandoned, thrown away with no
concern given to their fate.
A few are reluctantly given up by caring owners who cannot keep
them any longer.
All come with their own
sad story, and all need a wonderful home of their own.
How Our Guinea
Pigs Can Come to Live with You
Because our guinea pigs
are a part of our family, we don't operate like a pet store where
anyone can plunk down cash and take home any guinea pig they
fancy. Therefore, we want to give you an idea of what to expect
when applying to JPGPR for adoption.
We carefully screen potential
owners to make sure our "kids" are getting a proper,
safe, loving and permanent new home - with somebody that can
afford the time, effort and money needed to keep them healthy
and happy. The average life span of a cavy is 5 - 7 years, and
we have heard of some making as old as 10! Potential adopters
need to be aware of this, and should consider how this pet will
fit in the future lifestyle of the family. Example: A child that
gets a guinea pig when she is 10 or 11, may be working/dating/driving
as the guinea pig enters its senior years. Will the child and
family still be interested and committed to that guinea pig?
Potential adopters must be willing and able to make a lifelong
commitment to keeping the guinea pig safe, comfortable and loved.
When families adopt, we
feel it is important for parents to assume responsibility for
the guinea pig as well as the children. No matter how mature
or responsible a parent thinks their child is, chances are very
good that in a year or 2 or 4, the appeal of cage cleaning will
wear off. The child may feel he is too busy or has more important
things to do then take care of and love an aging guinea pig.
That is when the guinea pig will need the parent to make sure
life is still good.
I don't generally recommend
guinea pigs to families with children under 7 years old. I think
young children can be too chaotic for guinea pigs. Guinea pigs
are typically a gentle, easy to handle animal. However, if they
feel threatened or stressed or uncomfortable they will bite -
and being as guinea pigs are a good sized animal the bites can
be painful. Eleven years of dealing with families who no longer
want their guinea pigs also shows me that very young children
often don't really appreciate the animal and tend to quickly
lose interest in it.
It is important to know
that guinea pigs require a lot of time and care, and they
can be a messy pet. Guinea pigs are NOT an easy, low maintenance
pet! The majority of the animals I get in here are given up because
the children they were purchased for have lost interest and stopped
caring for them and cleaning the cage adequately. Inadequately
cleaned cages really stink.
It is a good idea for
all members of the family to handle some guinea pigs before getting
too set on adopting one or two. Many guinea pigs are given up
because of allergies in the family. Sometimes people are allergic
to the guinea pig's hay or wood shavings rather than the animal
itself. If you'd like more information on allergies and guinea
pigs, read my article Ah Choo, I'm Allergic to My Guinea Pig!
There are some requirements
(such as an approved size/style cage and where the cage is kept)
and a short adoption interview. As of April 1, 2004 adoption
fees are $30 for a single cavy and $45 for two cavies (same sex).
Discounts are given to folks that have previously adopted from
JPGPR. Bonded pairs will not be split up. The JPGPR Adoption
Package includes the following:
30 Day Money Back
Guarantee
Lifelong Welcome Back Guarantee
1 Pound Guinea Pig Food
A Small Bag of Bluegrass or Timothy Hay
A Sample Packet of Treats
Lots of Guinea Pig Care Information
Cavy Health Record Book (as seen at www.guinealynx.info)
A Web Site You Can Visit for Information and Interesting Articles
Someone You Can Call With Questions
Someone Who Will Always Care About Your Guinea Pig
We do our best to adopt
guinea pigs that will work best for each owner or family. Sometimes
even though a person or family is approved for adoption, we might
not currently have an animal we feel would be happy in a certain
situation, or would best suit the life style of the owner(s).
In that case we may prefer to put you on a waiting list until
a better candidate is available, or may even refer you to another
shelter or rescue.
When contacting us about
adoptions, please tell us a little about yourself and your family.
Approximate age, what you do and what your family is like, do
you have children or other pets? What are you looking for in
a guinea pig, what are your plans for it in your home and life,
have you had previous experience with guinea pigs, etc.? Whatever
you'd like to tell us about the guinea pig's potential new home
and family. If you would include your phone number and a good
time to reach you, we can call and talk to you further about
the pigs currently available and the adoption procedure. We do
not have an updated list or pictures of available guinea pigs
at this web site because we do not have a digital camera or scanner.
The guinea pig shelter
is run out of our home, which is in Isanti -- about an hour drive
north of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. We do have a lot of
things going on here, so adoptions need to be worked in around
the other jobs and responsibilities of our lives. If you are
in a hurry to adopt you might want to check out some of the humane
societies in the cities. They often have guinea pigs, and do
have staff and regular hours they are open for adoption. Check
the following for a list of animal shelters in the Twin Cities
area:
http://geocities.com/mnpawprints/Orgs.html.
Readers in other areas of the country might also find the following
web sites helpful:
If you have not already
done so, please read some of the articles on our web site covering
guinea pig care. The articles Guinea Pigs: General Information and
Care Requirements,
Guinea Pig
Housing, and Adopting a Shelter Piggie are especially helpful when considering adding
a guinea pig to your family. Again, it is important to know that
guinea pigs require a lot of time and care, and they can be a
messy pet. These are NOT an easy, low maintenance pet! So You Want to Adopt
a Guinea Pig
offers a rescuer's perspective of adoptions.
Thank you so much for
visiting our web site, and for taking the time to learn more
about these delightful animals. Please feel free to email us
at JPGPR@aol.com with any guinea pig questions
you may have - whether you adopt from our shelter or get your
guinea pig elsewhere. We look forward to hearing from you.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING CAVIES AND THEIR
WONDERFUL NEW OWNERS:
Cocoa - adopted
by Laura Seibert
Serafina and Natasha
- adopted by Paul & Barb Reid
Cheeks and Turnip
- adopted by Stacy Bestrom
Hambone - adopted
by Jill Weimer
Poof - adopted
by Angie Steer
Bhel and Kailo
- adopted by Sybil Bohnett
Snowy - adopted
by Holly Andreen
Bo and Jangles
- adopted by Kara Khan
Rodney - adopted
by Holly Rutten
Grant - adopted
by Deb Dalton
Peanut - adopted
by Amanda Bromen
Aries - adopted
by Anna Lebak
Pumpkin - adopted
by Silke Siepman
Moby and Baxter
- adopted by Allysse Henry
Beanie - adopted
by Sue Molloy
Buford - adopted
by Kim Bosworth
Jelly Bean - adopted
by Dawn Lange
Rumpy and Tweak
- adopted by Sarah Etheridge
Oreo - adopted
by Susan Brunell
Petunia and Oona
- adopted by Melinda Fierro Westberg
Rooty Tooty -
adopted by Mary Jo Wagner
Lindy - adopted
by Sarah Etheridge
Sweety, Cinnamon
and Stinker - adopted by Marvin Bohnett and family
Ramone - adopted
by Lindsay Peterson and Piggy
Sidney - adopted by Deb Dalton and Grant
Ferdinand - adopted
by Allysse Henry and Picasso
Tristan - adopted
by Holly Andreen
Speedy and Oreo
- adopted by Melinda Goedeke
Gingersnap and
Grace - adopted by Loralee DiLorenzo and family
Fitzger (Fitz)
- adopted by Sybil Bohnett and Bitz
Dewey and Zander
- adopted by Sarah Groves-Speece
Hamlet - adopted
by Karen Moore, Richard and Bissell
Oops - adopted
by Karen and Danielle Sabat, and Pellet
Molly and Charlie
- adopted by Eric and Vicki Fuglister
Dolly and Marshmallow
- adopted by Karen Thimm
McKenzie - adopted
by Sybil Bohnett and family
Stanley (AKA Pickles)
- adopted by April Champion and Martin
Oliver and Andrew
- adopted by April Champion, Martin and Stanley
Bug - adopted
by Leann Ticknor, Jasper and Winnie
Willow and Anya
- adopted by Melinda and Paul Westberg, and Oona
Louie - adopted
by Lynn Kowalski and Clint
Kupo, Roz and
Pickle - adopted by Ann Hagen and Rob Gibson
Harvey - adopted
by Barbara Foster and Dodi
Lucy - adopted
by Lynn Kowalski and Sally
Cokie - adopted
by Jill, Holly and Jesse Weimer
Boomer and Murphy
- adopted by LeeAnn, Taylor and Megan Stickler
Bear and Moose
- adopted by Mickey Short and Buckwheat
Cookie - adopted
by Jill, Holly & Jesse Weimer and Cokie
Rosy and Marigold
- adopted by Tess Peterson
Andrea Ann and
Charlotte - adopted by Heidi Greger and Muriel
Treble, Ms. Pigglesworth,
Sydney and Bobbers - adopted by Nancy Cooper, Bubba and Pip
Charles and Revel
- adopted by Susan Dannen and family
(In most cases
adopted guinea pigs are listed with the names they had here at
the shelter.)
This article and the JPGPR.com
logo are © 1993-2004 Vicki Palmer Nielsen - Jack Pine Guinea
Pig Rescue. No copyright is asserted herein regarding the accompanying
illustration; copyright of the illustration is retained by the
original holder(s). If you would like to reproduce anything from
the website, please first e-mail Vicki at JPGPR@aol.com for permission.
|
