Why doesn't the SPCA 'fix' Guinea Pigs?

[spoonyspork]

A couple days ago I adopted a pig from the SPCA (ANOTHER one... turns out Quicksilver is a girl. It's a long story I'll tell later... we're still in panic mode trying to find room for two cages while two quarentine cages are still set up). He was neutered (thankfully, as they had no girls), but he was neutered by the previous owners, not the SPCA, and none of the others there were.

I was going over the adoption paperwork, and saw that it said all animals are to be fixed before being adopted out. 'All animals' not 'all dogs and cats'.

So... why aren't guinea pigs and other animals fixed before being adopted out? Are small animals somehow excluded from the definition of 'animals'?

[Percy's Mom]

They should definitely change their adoption forms if they are not going to spay and neuter small animals. As far as why they don't have them "fixed", it can be extremely difficult to find a vet that is cavy savvy and comfortable doing the procedure. For a rescue or a shelter that has cavies on a regular basis or exclusively, it is worth the time and effort to find a vet who will do spays and neuters on them. For your regular SPCA or humane society, having a vet on call who can make sure they are healthy (even if they are guessing) and deal with emergency issues is typically about what they have time for.

[daftscotslass]

I've found often that guinea pigs were excluded from the definition of "animals" when enquiring about keeping them in our rented home. "Oh no, we only consider cats and dogs to be pets" was the response.

I would contact them about it. I honestly do not believe that it is financially viable for most rescues to neuter all animals - however I would really love to know what vet they use for their goldfish and mouse neuters. They should be encouraged to change their documentation before someone gets themselves in a sticky situation due to a misunderstanding.

[CavySpirit]

Time, money and talent -- in any combination.

[Res Judicata]

Breech of contract, anyone? Someone could come back and sue them if the "male" guinea pig they adopted to go with their boar one day provides them with several more offspring. By saying every animal is fixed and handing out ones who aren't, they are setting themselves up for problems.

[Jennicat]

Ditto to the time, space, and talent.

I'm glad that a lot of them don't, because a lot of shelters don't have the knowledge to keep nasty complications from arising. :|

[cookie_gal]

I think a lot of the time it is talent as I do not think we have that many vets here in the UK that are cavy savvy, I personally have heard of very few. Its probably not worth risking a not high success rate. Also costs would come into it.

[lynettstoy]

Very few vets have any experience with guinea pigs, and a lot of the vets who work with rescues and shelters have even less experience, which is why they have the time to volunteer. Personally, I would prefer to choose my own vet for neuters, so maybe the way to go is to approach the shelters for an amount to apply to the surgery, paid directly to the attending vet, of course. Also, I would really come down on them to at least change the contract, but I am a stickler for details.

[spoonyspork]

Oh, I agree on the no time/talent/money thing. I was just wondering why they would put that in the contract if they don't do it.

However, I don't think they can change their contract. I just found the paperwork again, and here's the direct quote:

According to Florida State Statute 823.15, all animals adopted from public shelters must be sterilized. All animals must be surgically sterilized before release from the facility.

Now, I understand why they wouldn't... it's a dangerous procedure for guinea pigs and other small animals... but is this Florida Statute saying that they have no choice in the matter?


Oh, and daftscotlass - I know what you mean about shelters not considering rodents 'animals'... when I put down that I rent, and told them it was pretty much impossible to get ahold of the landlord, they said not to worry, because it's 'just a guinea pig'... yeah. I was a little taken aback by that.

[lynettstoy]

It is no harder to neuter an adult piggy than a three month old puppy or kitten, but if no piggies are presented while you are on your small animal rotation, you will never know that. The additional problem is that the drugs needed for dogs and cats are well documented, while the drugs used for piggies, rats, hamsters, etc. may not be as well known. My husband is a horse vet, and we are in love with our miniature donkey. It is considerably different to sedate a donkey instead of a horse or pony. You would be surprised how many equine vets will not work on donkeys or mules because of the differences.

I am a person who would keep asking questions about the wording of the contract until someone listened, but that is just me. If you raise enough questions, you may be due some money back to reimburse you for having work done that they are required to do by law. Unless the contract and law are rewritten to exclude small mammals not canine nor feline, someone needs to own up to the fact that they are doing a subpar job. In NJ, they could lose their license if the number of infractions begins to increase.

[CBrewton5]

I think if a shelter is going to stipulate in their contract that their animals not be used for breeding purposes, then they should be responsible for spaying/neutering those animals, or at the very least have a contract with a vet that will give adoptive parents a cut rate to spay/neuter within X # of days after he/she is adopted. It doesn't seem quite fair that a shelter will put such stipulations on an adoptive owner, but yet not provide them with any assistance in meeting the requirements they set. If the shelter has no such stipulation on not breeding, then the shelter would not need to be held responsible for that, since after the animal is out of the shelter's custody it's no longer their responsibility; however, I still think it's in the shelter's best interest to do so if they are truly concerned with not having one of their animals participate in the overcrowding population.

But then that's just my opinion, I'm sure there are plenty others that would disagree.

[zambonigirl]

Originally Posted by CBrewton5

But then that's just my opinion, I'm sure there are plenty others that would disagree.

I totally and completely agree. It's hypocritical, and even moreso if they don't consider the guinea pigs as "real" pets. Why bother having rescue practises if it's not considered a "real" pet? I agree with the others that the contracts either need to be re-written, or the practises need to be changed.

[Res Judicata]

The Florida Statute: Are there exemptions made for smaller animals, and that's just not listed on the contract. It could be a definition of "animal" in the statute itself. It sounds silly, but for the sake of the statute's wording "animal" could be referring to only certain species or animals over a certain weight, etc. It doesn't mean that the legislature thinks guinea pigs aren't animals; it is just an easier way of saying what needs to be said without including a laundry list of species here and there through out the statutes dealing with neutering/spaying animals.

[bunnyluv17]

I think at the time that most of these shelters are founded, they intend to house dogs and cats, but because of the increasing popularity of small animals they end up with more and more that are dumped. I imagine that they never expected to take in so many small mammals, so perhaps they have never reworded their originial paperwork. But I definitely think they should.

My local SPCA also mentions something to that effect on their website. But I will cut them plenty of slack since they do neuter/spay all rabbits, all male rats, and the occasional guinea pig. They do not usually spay/neuter guinea pigs, however, because it does not have any behavioral benefits like it does with rabbits and male rats, and spaying female guinea pigs can be particularly difficult since they are pretty small and sensitive.