Special Needs Guinea Pig Needs A Second Chance, Manhattan, Kansas

@Petlovr -- we have it squared away now, but I really appreciate your offer. I can't wait to see pictures of your new bunny (I guess I can't call them pigtures!).

I'm so glad you got everything settled!

To everyone watching this thread:
Are you aware that there are animal transport "trains" running across the country? California to New Jersey, Washington State to Florida. Dogs, bunnies, Guinea pigs, ratties, ferrets, etc. All help is so genuinely appreciated, even if it's just a small "leg" that you can drive. If you are inspired by this thread, and I know I am (and sad I won't get to meet Grace and help out) check out your local rescues, or PM me, and I'll put in contact with some people. This kind of generosity literally saves lives when the clock is counting down on the amount of time an animal has left. It doesn't have to be often, or a lot, but every small, tiny bit helps. It really is inspiring, and not sad. If you don't want to know the background, or hear upsetting things, just tell the coordinator of the train, and you won't hear anything "bad". Thanks for reading!

Here's my next bunny-Jasper

@Wildcavy That's what I was thinking! LOL. How do I say I want pictures the bunny way? I coudn't figure it out, so I didn't say so earlier.

What an adorable bunny! Thank you @Petlovr and everybody else, for offering to help. I had a mental flash of you standing on the side of the road as Grace drove by, cheering her onward! I just finished sewing some things for Grace to take with her and share with her new buddy. @Wildcavy and @Xopher , don't look to close at the sewing, it's not pretty:crazy:. Don't worry it will hold up in the wash:crazy:. We will be leaving St. Louis a little before noon today to get Grace to Indiana in plenty of time to meet up with @lemonham .

How do I say I want pictures the bunny way?

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We just say "pictures", LOL. I've only ever heard of piggie people mutating the word to fit the species...(ie: PIG-tures)

What an adorable bunny!

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Thank you. I can't wait to smoosh him and cuddle him....He was dumped on a highway, and luckily someone driving by saw him in time to stop and pick him up. He must have been an "Easter bunny"- a live animal present. It's such a bad idea to give live animals.

I had a mental flash of you standing on the side of the road as Grace drove by, cheering her onward

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Yep! That's me! Yelling "Whoo hoo, go Grace!"

Grace is safe in Indiana for the night and will travel to Ohio tomorrow.

I just slid down the hall trying to get to @Xopher to tell him! He's holding Picckalo so I didn't want to yell.

Are you aware that there are animal transport "trains" running across the country? California to New Jersey, Washington State to Florida. Dogs, bunnies, Guinea pigs, ratties, ferrets, etc. All help is so genuinely appreciated, even if it's just a small "leg" that you can drive.

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Just want to point out that while it's definitely awesome that folks are willing to help out, sometimes these long distance trains are not in the best interest of the animals, particularly small animals, and especially this time of year. Animals that don't really travel well (guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats, small animals in general) should probably be approached differently when it comes to very long distance trains; the stress of travel needs to be factored in to whether or not it's worth hauling them for miles and miles (and hours and hours). I personally know of a number of these longer trains that have resulted in injury (or sometimes, sadly, death) to the animals involved and while again I realize it's great that there are so many caring folks out there willing to help, we need to remember that while it may take longer to find, there are generally good homes closer that don't put so much stress on the animal having to travel so far.

I am very glad that Grace is getting such a great home and am not implying anything about this particular animal train, just mean to point out that sometimes it's not really in the animal's best interest to haul them from one end of the country to another.

Petlovr said:

View attachment 27455Here's my next bunny-Jasper

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hmy:I'm gonna die of cuteness. He is absolutely positively adorable!!!!!!!

Thanks @Paula. We've done our best to give Grace breaks in the journey and are excited to have her coming home to us. I don't want to turn the forum into a piggy train Central Station.

But we'll keep everyone who is interested updated on how she does once she's here!

This is so exciting! I can't wait to hear more about the rest of Grace's journey!

I just wanted to point out that most of the super long "trains" are dogs or cats that literally have HOURS to live, and this is their only chance. I agree, if at all possible, local homes are better, but high volume kill shelters are the reason for these trains. I am a board member for No Kill Lehigh Valley (where I live)-you can read more about our philosophies on the national site:No Kill Advocacy Center | A No Kill nation is within our reach.... Please support this valuable work.

As you all know Grace is no longer in our home and while I'm happy that she is moving on to her forever home a part of me wishes she could have stayed with us. While we were driving to meet @lemonham I relized that the cage we transported her in was where our sweet little Sheldon spent FOUR YEARS of his life.
@Paula , thank you for bringing up the fact that travel is hard on them. We did make sure Grace had plenty of veggies soaked with water, hay and pellets. I was terrified when the air-conditioner was acting up when I picked her up last week. I pray that she has no problems because of her travels and that her abbytuide keeps her spirits up! I wish there were more people in my area that were able to take in piggies, but sadly I don't know of any.
@Wildcavy , we will need tons of pigtures and keep us up to date on Grace and Picckalo's adventures!

Yes, it definitely seems you guys have gone above and beyond for her comfort. I'm just commenting that in general, before we start encouraging folks to do these long distance trains, we need to remember that there usually are options nearby and it is not always in the best interest of the animal to be hauled across the country (or halfway across the country). I think the accommodations you folks have made for Grace and her comfort are excellent and the exception, definitely not the rule.

Where is she now?

Grace is almost to her forever home. I received a text from @Wildcavy at 2:41pm that she has Grace and they are on their way home!

"oh frajous day, calloo, callay!!!" i'm sooo happy - i'm crying. . .

GRACE IS IN THE BUILDING!!!! Grace is with us! I'm just typing this quickly because we drove ahead and through severe thunderstorms and flash floods and we're now under additional tornado warnings. It will last through midnight. We're taking photos and we'll post.

Grace is AMAZING. Thank you @lemonham for warning us about how vigorous she is about jumping around! She was great on the ride home, and is already chutting and wheeking and snuffling noses with Oink. Jumble is ignoring here. (Oink and Jumble are in their pens, but we set up an 8 x 5 floortime area for her to run around, and it abuts their cages.) I'm watching her climb over all of the toys and hideys. She is running around like a mad woman!

Thank you @Hhbean for the fleece -- it is beautiful. Thank you also for doing the long trips across MO both to get her from @Els9547 and then to Indianapolis! And thank you @Els9547 for letting us bring her home.

@lemonham -- your timing was perfect today! I hope you've made it through the storms okay! I appreciate the magic that you did to get her to us in Pennsylvania.

@Xopher will have additional stories of Grace and the little Grace-related miracles that happened down the line. I'll post more shortly, and hope with some pictures soon.

So glad she is home safe where she belongs!