Pair of young male piggies in Casper, WY

[Jitterbug]

It is very depressing, but I am forced to find a new home for my two sweethearts, Lindy-Hop and Banana. Earlier this year I was struggling with their care and almost gave them up (well, Lindy...I didn't have Banana yet) for adoption. But I decided to give it one more shot, and found this site. I built them a huge C&C cage, switched to fleece and have spent literally hundreds of dollars to give them the best of everything. Then in August, my husband's company informed him that they would be transferring him to Houston. It's taken awhile to line things up and make arrangements, but my hubby is currently down there and has started his new job. We're having to rent a house for a while (at least 6 months) and the house we found (it's a really tough housing market down there right now due to Hurricane Ike - we're just glad we found something workable) will allow up to 2 pets, and when we told the owner we had two dogs and two guinea pigs he told us he would allow the dogs but not the pigs. I think it's unfair but I guess it's not my decision at this point. I suppose it's better this way anyway since piggies don't travel well in my experience, but I hate having to give them up!

Long story short, I will need to be finding them a new home asap as we are moving in about 2-3 weeks. They are both young - Lindy is about a year old and Banana is about 6 months. They are male and have never had any health problems or concerns. If anyone is interested, I will provide hay and pellets for them (a not-quite 50 lb bag I JUST bought from Kleenmama's ). I'm keeping my C&C cage and all my accessories so that when we own our own house again I can find some new piglets, although if you really need something like a food bowl or water bottle we can discuss it. I'm asking a $20 rehoming fee partly to offset the enormous amount of money I've already spent on them (although at this point $20 is a drop in the bucket ).

One other concern I have is what to do if no one responds to me. Besides posting here I have also put out a short classified in the local paper (another fifty freaking dollars (but for them it's worth it )). Any other ideas? Is craigslist a bad idea? There are literally no rescues for gps where I live; the closest one is in Denver which is something like 300 miles away and I probably won't be able to get them there. I called the Humane Society today and they said Petco adopts out small animals, but having been on this forum awhile and knowing the conditions they keep I shudder to even contemplate taking them there. But if that's my only option... Anyone know anything about Petco's adoption program?

Thanks in advance! (And sorry about the long post)

[Jitterbug]

Yes I know this is the wrong forum but I posted a thread under the adoption forum and nobody replied to any of my questions, including the ones not about adopting out my piggies, even though whenever I post a question on here normally I get lots of feedback.

First of all, the question I had asked was whether anyone has any suggestions as to finding someone to take my pigs. There are literally no rescues for piggies around here (the closest one is something like 300 miles away and I'm not going to be able to get them down there before we move). The rental we're moving into in Texas won't allow the piggies, but we're moving in 2-3 weeks and I'm afraid I won't find someone to take them by then. I've asked all my family and friends who live nearby and no one I know is in a position to take them. I have ads listed in the local newspaper, petfinder.com and craigslist. (Don't worry I am asking a $20 rehoming fee and will be screening potential candidates to protect my sweeties from psychos.)

Which brings me to my second concern. I have had three people respond to my petfinder ad but they were weird, and sent up red flags for me. They never referred to them as guinea pigs but called them "the pet". They also asked me questions about things I had clearly stated in the ad like their health and how much money I was asking for them, including whether I had recently brought the price down. Oh yeah, and they all had REALLY bad grammar. Here's a sample:

Hello,
I saw your advert on pet finder and i am very interested in
adopting one to be part of my family. I will like you to send me their
pictures and the price so that i will know the exact one i needed..I
will also like to know the present condition of the lovely pet.
Hope to read from you soon.
Thanks

Has anyone else used petfinder ads before and encountered this? Do you suppose they're really interested or are these the people I've been warned to avoid: breeders and abusers and bunchers? My instinct is just to ignore responses like these altogether but on the other hand I'm kind of desperate to be able to find them a decent, loving home before time is up. I just don't know what I will do with them if I can't find them a home and I won't just dump them off anywhere. Please help!! Thanks guys!

Sorry again for the wrong thread - hope you understand.

[Jitterbug]

Wow - in the time it took me to post this I got 2 more such "replies" in my inbox.

[Ly&Pigs]

Unfortunately, crossposting the same thing across multiple boards isn't allowed. I am going to have to merge this thread with your other one.

Have you looked at this thread: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...-rehoming.html, it give different resources on places you can put adoption notices.

In addition to placing ads in various places, you need to list them as having an adoption fee to basically get rid of snake owners/breeders from responding. There are so many pet scams out there that sometimes it's hard to find good homes.

You also need to ask a lot of questions to the potential adopters and point out that they need to have a C&C cage, a certain brand of pellets, grass hay always, etc.

Last but not least, are there any cavy rescues near you to take them to as a last resort? If you can't find a home for them in the next 2-3 weeks, it would be better to take them to a shelter/rescue than just dumping them at a petstore or other places.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Is there any way you can reason with the landlord? Tell them they are "caged pets" who don't really do any damage, etc? Offer a pet deposit?

[cielo]

I am sorry that you need to rehome your GPs! I wouldn't use craigslist for that purpose, maybe you can try Pet adoption: Want a dog or cat? Adopt a pet on Petfinder . I got my last pair from there. Make sure the peson is not a breeder and that the person knows about their care at least the basic. I do beleive is going to take some time, and please give them toguether.

I email the person who I adopted from every now and then to update on them. That is something not everybody does, but if it was me I would like that. She feels better just knowing that they are ok... Good Luck!

[werevamper]

I would take them if I was closer and had room for more.

I wouldn't take them to Petco because I work there (sadly) and they take even worse care or their adoption animals than they do their normal ones.

I'm trying desperately to get out of this job but I need the money and the job market sucks.

I hope you find great homes for them.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Try Guinea Pig Home - Home too and making flyers for local vet offices or pet supply places. Upper scale stores that have bulletin boards are good too.

[Jitterbug]

OK this one just does it:

Good Day,
I saw your pet advertised on a classified advert on pet finder and i want to adopt your pet at a companion for my 10yrs old daurgter also to be friend of the family .please let me know is the pet is still available for adoption and the present health and its pictures if available for more satisfaction...i will be responsible for the shipping because i have a competent and good shipping company that will come for the pick-up of the pet at your location after you might have receive my payment
I wait to read back from you asap so that i can tell you more about the shipping arrangement
Thanks

He has a SHIPPING COMPANY who will pick up the pet??? I mean come on!! How dumb does this guy think I am??? I'd be insulted if I weren't laughing at the same time. Still, it clears all doubt for me that I should just ignore any responses that refer to my pigs as "the pet" and have really bad grammar. It's easy to see these kinds of responses aren't sincere.

In response to all the replies, THANKS! I get the feeling not everyone read the second post I made; it's not actually a direct repeat of the first and has additional information and questions.

Rabbitsncavyluv, the deal was that the landlord will accept up to two pets, and when we explained we had two dogs and two guinea pigs, he said he would allow the dogs. My husband is the one who talked to him though, so I think I will talk to him also and explain about them being caged and offer an additional fee. He was worried about the smell, which bothered me when I used fleece but I could easily switch back to wood shavings which never smelled bad. It would be so nice if I could keep them! The tip on flyers is a good one too, especially in vets' offices. I think I'll try and get some up asap.

Werevamper, thanks for the tip on Petco! I will definitely not take my pigs there.

Ly, I did see that other thread; that's where I got the idea to post on petfinder, since that's where I found Banana. I think I will post on some of the other ones too soon. It's a good thread, thanks!

For the record, I am asking a $20 rehoming fee to scare off the scammers (although as noted I've been getting some freaky replies anyway). I spent about 2 hours today preparing screening questions and a few pages about proper piggy care (most of the info for which I got from here ). Like I said, there are no rescues near me; the next best thing was Petco, and I won't take them there. It did occur to me, though, that I could have my relatives in Colorado take them to a rescue in Denver for me, if nothing else. I will have to talk to them...

And don't worry, I won't let them go except as a pair.

Again, thanks for all the help and support!! Best wishes to you guys!

[Jitterbug]

Well, my piggies are gone. A family came and got them. They already had some ferrets and a rat, and they have a whole room dedicated to their small critters so I know they're going to be well taken care of. I also sold them my cage so the piggies wouldn't be moving into an entirely unfamiliar setting, and to be sure their cage would be big enough. I miss them already but it's such a relief to know they're going to be well taken care of and I'm not going to have to resort to taking them to a rescue for lack of any other options. Doesn't mean I'm not sad tho.

[breezy2]

I am glad to hear you found them a home. Good luck with your move.