Thursday, July 21, 2011
RABBITS????
OK, I decided to try fostering rabbits. Let me tell you, I have had a first class education. A week after I brought home a female English Rex and a male Lionhead, she gave birth to 7 babies. Now I have 9 rabbits needing new homes!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Cavy Slideshow!
You can click on the picture of Posie to view guinea pigs available for adoption from Bosco Cavy Rescue....
https://picasaweb.google.com/112339592158136243704/Mar122011#
I now have four babies and two young adults from Metro for placement very very soon! All seem very healthy and active, they were transferred to me after only a few hours at the shelter.
Two are males and two are females. They are happy to be held, very talkative and will be ready for new homes very soon!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Great news on Placement
I placed four guinea pigs with classroom teachers today! Both adopted bonded pairs, and asked for my help getting ready to take them in. The classrooms are third grade and kindergarten classrooms. That means I still have three males (Churro, Phillip, and Ivan) and one female left.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Guinea Pigs for Adoption
Would you like to adopt a guinea pig (or two) for your family or classroom? Please complete the adoption application and return it to me ASAP. I will bring the guinea pigs to you in order to do a Home Visit and education session.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Learning more about cavies
I have received 9 guinea pigs in the past week! I took three from Metro Animal Services and 6 from a rescuer in Indiana. Thanks to a dear colleague and Dr Missy Jewell at Almost Home Animal Clinic, three of the cavies are in treatment for illnesses associated with neglect. Guinea pigs are known for being resilient to disease, this is one reason they are popular with scientific and cosmetics testing labs. These three pigs were rumored to be headed towards a lab when they were rescued from a hoarder.
All three had lesions on their feet bad bedding and wet cages. One of them has an upper respiratory infection that had blocked one of her nostrils, and since guinea pigs are "nose" breathers, she could have suffocated. They also had species-specific lice and communicable ringworm. I currently have them isolated from the other cavies in order to treat these illnesses.
Someone asked me in a very quizzical way "Why do you care about them?" I have several reasons. First of all, they are perhaps one of the gentlest of all pets domesticated by people (of which there are only about 20- can you name them?). They were raised for food and their pelts in Ancient Peru. They rarely bite and make lively noises that are very soothing. They also eat hay and that reminds me of horses. Finally, I stopped fostering cats and dogs because my own pets were not comfortable with sick and unstable animals entering their pack. The guinea pigs are unobtrusive and enjoy interacting (while strictly supervised) with my other pets. Finally, since I can't foster other animals, I feel like I am saving a small population of animals from euthanasia and rehabilitating pets for my community.
I am disturbed that the major pet store chains claim to be animal welfare oriented and still sell these pocket pets for a profit. I could keep them stocked year round with unwanted rabbits and guinea pigs, just from accidental breedings, hoarders, and relinquished pets. When I approached one store about it, they said they would take my cavies but would have to sell them for profit with their other livestock. More education is needed. That's why I am keeping these blogs!
All three had lesions on their feet bad bedding and wet cages. One of them has an upper respiratory infection that had blocked one of her nostrils, and since guinea pigs are "nose" breathers, she could have suffocated. They also had species-specific lice and communicable ringworm. I currently have them isolated from the other cavies in order to treat these illnesses.
Someone asked me in a very quizzical way "Why do you care about them?" I have several reasons. First of all, they are perhaps one of the gentlest of all pets domesticated by people (of which there are only about 20- can you name them?). They were raised for food and their pelts in Ancient Peru. They rarely bite and make lively noises that are very soothing. They also eat hay and that reminds me of horses. Finally, I stopped fostering cats and dogs because my own pets were not comfortable with sick and unstable animals entering their pack. The guinea pigs are unobtrusive and enjoy interacting (while strictly supervised) with my other pets. Finally, since I can't foster other animals, I feel like I am saving a small population of animals from euthanasia and rehabilitating pets for my community.
I am disturbed that the major pet store chains claim to be animal welfare oriented and still sell these pocket pets for a profit. I could keep them stocked year round with unwanted rabbits and guinea pigs, just from accidental breedings, hoarders, and relinquished pets. When I approached one store about it, they said they would take my cavies but would have to sell them for profit with their other livestock. More education is needed. That's why I am keeping these blogs!
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