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500 Cavies in CO need to be re-homed

misspigglie

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Hello, I have heard of 500 breeder cavies needing to be sold in Denver Colorado. They were the breeder stock of David Hardesty, who passed away on Tuesday(?) They are selling them to raise money for the sevice & estate. I thought it would be a good thing if a few of them at least made it into homes as extremely loved pets. you can check out the yahoo group called(?) friendsofdh
Thanks for any help or ideas you can give?
 

rabbitsncavyluv

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Taking in breeder stock is not rescuing. I'm sure a lot of breeders will be willing to take in his stock.
 

misspigglie

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Yes, I know. I just have a hard time when I know certain people only think of them as a number on a ear tag. I think they have the right to be pampered like all the piggies on this site. Makes me very sad & frustrated:(
 

rabbitsncavyluv

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It said on another gp board that the majority of the pigs have found 'homes' (i.e. buyers) although many are planning on showing them. They just need to transport them.

If you want to take in some needy piggies, I see some adorable ones on petfinder. There's regularly piggies on craigslist under pets in Seattle. I love the orange piggies at the Seattle AC.
 

misspigglie

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Yes, I always check on Petfinder. I have taken in 4 piggies from there, even my Golden Retriever:) I just would like to see more piggies treated like precious babies, than just a piece of livestock. Thanks for the reply. I am always looking to rescue / rehome piggies in need.
 

crittermom

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Hmm, I saw this yesterday on https://cavycareinc.org/ and there wasn't a mention of them being put up for sale, just that they were unsure of plans for the cavies. In fact, CCI has asked for help with emergency fostering. Of course, now that I think of it I can see that the relative would try to raise money instead of adopt out. But I'm stumped....why would it be wrong to foster or adopt the stock? It doesn't profit the breeding industry....please set me straight.
 

mncavylover

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I agree, what's wrong with adopting the former stock? It's just the same as adopting a former breeder pig at a shelter, or am I seeing things wrong? Thanks.

That's one heck of a lot of piggies.
 

misspigglie

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That is definitely alot of piggies:) You can be sure though that they were all extremely healthy & perfect, or else they would already have been euthanised:( I think that they would probably need to be worked with alot, because they were probably mostly used for breeding and not used to human interaction very much? I don't know. Anyway, I know that they are coming to my area with some, I was thinking about rescuing a few. What do you think? Also, you can ask to get some and if they are traveling to your area, they will let you know. Thank you for your input:)
 

Access

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Do you remember the thread a while back about how adopting a pig from a rescue actually saves a few pigs?

https://guineapigcages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3483

If you adopt at a shelter, you free up more space at the shelter which allows them to help more pigs, and so on.

If I were the probate judge, I'd do things the other way around, I'd order the guy's estate sold off and be used to provide care for the pigs he just left behind... I know breeding is all about getting the 'perfect pig', basically a genetic roll-of-the-dice (hence the enormous volumes required) but 500 pigs with only one person to care for them is excessive and irresponsible.
 

Jess1ca

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i think i'd be great for you to get one of the piggies. what would it be hurting to take one of them & give a man that's passed on a little bit of money for his funeral? when they come to your area you could suggest that they adopt them out instead of selling them. its really cool that you got 4 pigs & your doggie from petfinder. good luck.
 

misspigglie

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Jess1ca said:
i think i'd be great for you to get one of the piggies. what would it be hurting to take one of them & give a man that's passed on a little bit of money for his funeral? when they come to your area you could suggest that they adopt them out instead of selling them. its really cool that you got 4 pigs & your doggie from petfinder. good luck.
Thanks. I'm pretty sure that they want the money for them, though. Not willing to just give them away for nothing no matter if to good homes:(
 

rabbitsncavyluv

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You should read this: (scroll to info about the so-called reputable breeders)

(broken link removed)

How sad.
 

misspigglie

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That is really horrible! How could they treat those piggies that way? On the friendsofdh yahoo group, they are saying that it is some great rescue & rehoming. The last 200 of them are going to a broker? How do you think they transport those? Probably stuffed into the back of a van. I wonder how many will actually make it? One breeder said that on the drive back home, several females delivered. No stress involved, right? Ugh! They make me very sick! Looks like I won't be able to save any, I'm sorry about that:(
 

rabbitsncavyluv

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Well, at least the rescue managed to get (although they had to pay!) the ones that were going to be sent to the raptor colony. They didn't want to have anything to do with older or sick ones.

Poor things. Didn't even know what hay or greens were. This is what you support when you buy from breeders and shop at stores that sell animals.
 

Sparky

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it's a pity, the people on the "friendsofdh" group are all bashing the cavycareinc people for their "biased" article

they haven't given any information that indicates that she was wrong in what she said

fascists
 

kittycat7594

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Well, most of the people on that group actually know the people involved, and knew David personally, as well as his caviary. They know the standards that he kept up, as well as how strict USDA is, since some are USDA certified themselves, or have considered it, or are in the process of becoming certified.
A caviary must be perfectly clean in order to maintain it's USDA certification. That means no cages with any crevices that can get stuff into them- so coroplast would be out. That also means that you can have surprise visits at any time. We don't have to post any proof, because we know the standard conditons. However it may have been a bit dirty at that time, however all the animals were healthy, but three who he had been speaking to a vet school about. The man had had surgery a week before, and he'd died the Tuesday before. This caviary was his life, and he spent all his time working on it. He hadn't been there for several days, he didn't have any employees.

The real issue here is that the breeders found a place for all the animals, and somebody was put out that they didn't get any animals, nice animals that they could have sold right away at a profit. They posted something bad about somebody who recently DIED, so he can't defend himself, so others have to do it for him. Because the others have record that what she is saying is a lie and slander, the person who posted the story could be sued. She had not been asked to come by, but had forced her way in.

The animals were sold for two reasons. This was an unexpected death and there are many bills to pay off- has anybody here actually had to find out the cost of a funeral, even without burial and simply cremation, it's very expensive- thousands of dollars. They also are nice, healthy animals who do not carry genetic defects. Good animals for 4-h members- who are kids- to work with and keep as pets and project animals. Good animals for adult breeders to keep going and keep the memory of a friend alive by keeping the line alive.

Is it the right thing to slander and badmouth somebody a week after he has died, not to include to also slander his family and grieving friends?
 

Access

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No need to argue it here on this site.
That article is definately a good read, though, lots of insight.
 

CavySpirit

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The real issue here is that the breeders found a place for all the animals
Yes, including at least one distributor where they'll be off to the pet stores and as prey for raptors for those three that Shannon took instead. Found a place, yes. Found homes? No.


somebody was put out that they didn't get any animals, nice animals that they could have sold right away at a profit.
Huh? You are full of it, my dear. You have no clue as to the motives or process of rescue.


They posted something bad about somebody who recently DIED, so he can't defend himself, so others have to do it for him. Because the others have record that what she is saying is a lie and slander, the person who posted the story could be sued.
She didn't post ANYTHING about the MAN. She posted about the situation and her assessment of it. YOU weren't there. SHE was. The only thing she posted about David was: "David Hardesty, I thought you were better then the average, but it is evident you were no better then your fellows." Hardly slander or libel. You should be considering it a compliment, silly.

She had not been asked to come by, but had forced her way in.
Uh hello? Shannon states: "During our second conversation that day I advised her that I had twelve members ready to help. She wept, and could not believe that people would be willing to help her. She asked our members to come at noon."

as well as how strict USDA is
Don't make me laugh.
 
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John4216

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USDA may have pretty paper rules but enforcement truly a joke and everyone knows it. The surprise in a surprise visit would be that they actually did visit at all. Only other thing I would say is that if I learn of where a breeder is in my area that has these conditions then I 100% promise that they will receive a visit, and inspection, and some really awful publicity in the media. It is not possible for 1 person to care for 500 piggies alone and maintain proper standards.

As a side note, you can often judge a persons true character by how they treat others and animals.
 

The Dumpling

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I totally agree - I'm probably more scared of someone who abuses animals because it shows that they have no heart for those that are helpless.
 
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