Pigs in a Store!!

You take your piggie to the vets right? Thats a strange new place with strangers. Usually big scary dogs too, is that being cruel? Lol this thread made me laugh. Yes I know its a bad idea but if she had said 'so i lef my pig in the car while i went inside for a while' youd be jumping down her throats. Actually I'm taking my guineapigs to a pet show in a few weeks. How do you think show pigs survive with all these strange people and places? haha. Nice story I want a cuddle sack for my piggie..I now have the image of someone in the grocery shop with a trolley, a big pillow where the children generally sit in it and a guineapig just lying there while you drive it around :s haha

@xTayzx Guinea pigs only go to the vet because they have to. I'd rather have my guinea pig scared for a an hour then to die from an URI. However there is no need to make a guinea pig scared to death in a pet show just so you can hang a ribbon on their cage.

xTayzx said:

You take your piggie to the vets right? Thats a strange new place with strangers. Usually big scary dogs too, is that being cruel? Lol this thread made me laugh. Yes I know its a bad idea but if she had said 'so i lef my pig in the car while i went inside for a while' youd be jumping down her throats. Actually I'm taking my guineapigs to a pet show in a few weeks. How do you think show pigs survive with all these strange people and places? haha. Nice story I want a cuddle sack for my piggie..I now have the image of someone in the grocery shop with a trolley, a big pillow where the children generally sit in it and a guineapig just lying there while you drive it around :s haha

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You have apparently missed the point of this thread. It was stated, several times, that it is unnecessary to take a pig out in public. No one said taking your pig to the vet was a bad thing, and is (hopefully) not something that would need to be done very often in the first place.

I also honestly hope you are not showing pigs. It is cruel what they have to endure, and to answer your question - they survive because they are forced into the conditions of their selfish owners whims and have no other choice. It is also frowned upon here, as a note.

While it is better than leaving them in a hot car to bring them indoors, I really don't get why you could not have just brought them home and then gone to the store. It may take a little more time for you, but would save the little guy from undue stresses. I know whenever my piggies have been in the car with me, such as when bringing them to the vets, they are unhappy and stressed. Even if I have to go somewhere after I always take the extra time to bring them home first, which I understand can be difficult. Maybe yours was calm, not stressed at all, and as happy as when at home, but I know mine would not be, and I'd figure most piggies as well. At least it was only done the one time though and maybe it was an extenuating circumstance, I certainly can't claim to know you/your life, but I don't necessarily think it is a good thing to do.
I also do not mean any harm or rudeness, I'm sure, just putting my two cents in

I must say that I agree with what this owner did. When I adopted my pig all he came with a cage that included his food bowl and water bottle, but for some odd reason the previous owner told me that she wanted to keep the food and hay even though she did not own any other pigs. Nevertheless I decided that the best solution was to stop at the pet store on my way home and get him what he needed instead of making him go any longer than he had to with out it. I carried him the whole time we were in the pet store (wich allowed animals inside) and he did not seem to mind at all as long as I was cuddling him. I even let him sniff around the hay to see which one he preferred and let him sniff around some chewers. Anyone that asked to pet him I just politely said no. I would have much rather took him inside with the ac than have left him in the van during an Alabama summer.

@jacquerooks I don't agree with doing that either. Again, it'd be hard to tell if the guinea pig really wasn't stressed like you had said, since guinea pigs can't just tell you "I don't like being here" or "I do like being here" you have to determine all of that just from body language which is very very easy to interpret wrong. Also, if this place was a pet smart/co there is a chance that your guinea pig could have gotten an URI, fungal infection, mites, or the likes just from being there near and around places sick animals could have been placed. That's why when getting a new pig, you are supposed to quarantine in a whole other room, and wash your hands and change the clothes you are wearing. I would have rather had the guinea pig wait at home for just a few minuets more while I rushed out to get hay, rather than risking the pig being stressed out, and possibly getting something like a URI from the other pigs.

@PigPandemonium - you said exactly what I wanted to say but was to tired/lazy to type out 10 min ago!!

Xeygwyn said:

You have apparently missed the point of this thread. It was stated, several times, that it is unnecessary to take a pig out in public. No one said taking your pig to the vet was a bad thing, and is (hopefully) not something that would need to be done very often in the first place.

I also honestly hope you are not showing pigs. It is cruel what they have to endure, and to answer your question - they survive because they are forced into the conditions of their selfish owners whims and have no other choice. It is also frowned upon here, as a note.

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I got the point but im using things to explain my own opinion. Showing is not cruel IMO it happens. I dont show personally but know tonnes who do. I guess its everyones opinion on whether thats cruel or not but its gonna happen no matter what anyone says.

I can't even see how showing could be considered not cruel. They're shoved in small cages, haled of to a loud, and scary place. Poked and prodded, and all for the owners gain. Just because they don't die from all the stress and everything doesn't mean it's not cruel.

xTayzx said:

I got the point but im using things to explain my own opinion. Showing is not cruel IMO it happens. I dont show personally but know tonnes who do. I guess its everyones opinion on whether thats cruel or not but its gonna happen no matter what anyone says.

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Actually, it's only going to happen as long as there are selfish, self-centered people in this world who place their own gratification and self esteem boosting over an animal's welfare.

I kind of sit on the fence here. We were on a vacation a couple of months ago. I brought Poppy with us in a cat carrier, as well as his portable run. On the way home we stopped for lunch. I live in Florida, so leaving him in the truck was NOT an option. So I emptied my Camera Bag, put some food in and brought him into the Diner. I opened the bag and Poppy stuck his head out looking around. Not nervous. He also dined with us as I ordered a salad.

Cute story! You have a really good pig! Mine would have made lots of noise! lol

@PigPandemonum-My point in this was that sometimes you have to take the situation that you are given and try to make the best of it. I live in Alabama where we have had triple digit heat for three months now. If I would not leave my childrenin a car in this kind of heat how could you expect me to leave any other living thing. And going home and running back out again is not an option for me. I live on top of a mountain about 45 minutes away from any type of store. It takes me ten minutes just to get to the nearest gas station. Every situation that you are given is not always going to be ideal. And not everyone is going to agree with how you agree to handle it. Sometimes you just have to pick the lesser of two evils and roll with it, that is just a fact of life.

I don't have pig in a STORE story, but my school does this "Ag on the Lawn" thing to help educate the students, other adults, children too young for school, ect at the school. I participated this year, with Nico.

It began down pouring... HARD. The smaller animals (rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, ect) were all rushed inside right as soon as it started sprinkling, then everyone was running around (me, in an AirBrace after my ankle decided to be a butt. :c) and everyone then left the animals under the shelter and hauled back to the school to change into our gym clothes or whatever, because our school clothes were SOAKED.

by the time we went back out (I had to take off my AirBrace due to it being covered in mud and water and God knows what else... I've got chronic ankle instability with no stability = bad) it had stopped raining, but I was forced to go in to one of my classes or else my teacher would fail me...

Low and behold, I put Nico in his Petsmart box (he had plenty of room to move around) and I brought him to my choir class with me! Wasn't gonna leave him out in a garage in the cold with nobody around!

Teachers were not happy that I brought him inside, but I wasn't going to leave him out there. People could've picked him up and dropped him or anything else, because that's how irresponsible people are around here-- they don't give a crud whose it is, if they wanna look or pick it up, they will! Accidents happen. I wasn't risking it.

Wow, people. Judgmental much? I'd be willing to bet that everyone of us do or have done something that others would automatically deem you a 'bad owner'. Glass houses, throwing stones... ring any bells? My bet is this forum just lost another member. A paying one at that.

If not, if you're still coming to this thread op, I don't think there's anything wrong with what you did. Or taking them to schools for education. I think you probably know your pig, and the people here who say you can't tell what a pig feels obviously aren't very in tune with their pig as I can tell when mine are nervous, anxious, relaxed etc. Keep on educating, with your pig if he enjoys it. Those kids need to know guinea pigs aren't the 'easy' pets they first thought they were.

mommazilla said:

Wow, people. Judgmental much? I'd be willing to bet that everyone of us do or have done something that others would automatically deem you a 'bad owner'. Glass houses, throwing stones... ring any bells? My bet is this forum just lost another member. A paying one at that.

If not, if you're still coming to this thread op, I don't think there's anything wrong with what you did. Or taking them to schools for education. I think you probably know your pig, and the people here who say you can't tell what a pig feels obviously aren't very in tune with their pig as I can tell when mine are nervous, anxious, relaxed etc. Keep on educating, with your pig if he enjoys it. Those kids need to know guinea pigs aren't the 'easy' pets they first thought they were.

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I think all the information of this thread is important, and not judgmental in the least.

No, you don't know exactly how your pig is feeling, otherwise we wouldn't need to weigh our pigs constantly to monitor for hidden illnesses. We would automatically know 'oh, [piggy name here] isn't feeling well'. We aren't Dr. Doolittle. No one knows what goes on in a pig's brain.

They ARE, however, prey animals, and should be allowed to live in a calm, stable environment, without the constant poking and prodding as projects for children to 'learn'. There are far more constructive approaches to teaching. How subjecting a living creature to all the stress in the name of 'education' works, well, that's beyond me.

You're entitled to your opinion, but it's hard to call people 'judgmental' and 'throwing stones' when you come to a thread hurling your own at everyone else. It doesn't matter whether anyone is a paying member or not, either. No one here is more important than the next.

I think it was fine, and it's wonderful that you have taken the time to educate children. People in reality are more important than animals. It's not like you take her for the fun of it. Or let people stress her. I'm sure you are careful with her. I have a very social guinea pig that likes to see new things. In fact, when we moving across the country, I had to bring her in at one of our stops so we could pick up food. It was probably 110 outside. I emptied out a fabric shopping bag, and gently kept her with me inside where it was cool. She would have died if I left her in the car for even a minute. I'm sorry there was so much negative feedback when you clearly were not asking for opinions of your choice.

Captivate21 said:

I think it was fine, and it's wonderful that you have taken the time to educate children. People in reality are more important than animals. It's not like you take her for the fun of it. Or let people stress her. I'm sure you are careful with her. I have a very social guinea pig that likes to see new things. In fact, when we moving across the country, I had to bring her in at one of our stops so we could pick up food. It was probably 110 outside. I emptied out a fabric shopping bag, and gently kept her with me inside where it was cool. She would have died if I left her in the car for even a minute. I'm sorry there was so much negative feedback when you clearly were not asking for opinions of your choice.

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If you come into a forum, expect opinions. No one gets to dictate whether the responses are positive, or negative, as long as they add to the topic at hand.

Also, in my opinion, the belief that 'people in reality are more important than animals' is what has led us into this whole cycle of back yard breeders, sickly pet-store animals, and overpopulation. It is selfishness. It is for a person's own wants without regard to the consequences. These lives are purely dependent on our care, it should be done with respect for their nature.

While I do think the hot car would of been MUCH more cruel than bringing your piggy into the store, I think you should of taken the piggy home instead of doing such a thing.
I have a PetsMart RIGHT next to a Target, you know what I do if I bring Emma the pug with me to go to PetsMart. I save the Target trip for later and take her home.

Target overprices alot of the products anyhow. I'd much rather endure Wally World for a clothing item or even go to my favorite grocery store because it is cheaper there.

Xeygwyn said:

If you come into a forum, expect opinions. No one gets to dictate whether the responses are positive, or negative, as long as they add to the topic at hand.

Also, in my opinion, the belief that 'people in reality are more important than animals' is what has led us into this whole cycle of back yard breeders, sickly pet-store animals, and overpopulation. It is selfishness. It is for a person's own wants without regard to the consequences. These lives are purely dependent on our care, it should be done with respect for their nature.

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If you want to go with the whole selfishness issue, I guess you could not have a guinea pig because it is causing there to be an ongoing support of having them as pets, overbreeding, sick animals, etc. In reality guinea pigs are not native here. They were brought here for people to benefit. I guess maybe if you really care for your pig you could immerse her back to her natural environment in Peru. When I say people are more important than animals, I am referring to it's more important to spend time with my husband and kids than my pig. My pig will not care for me. My pig cannot feel what my heart is feeling. That's my point. It's an animal. I love mine, but it is still an animal.