Level of Effort? Starting a rescue?

[mortyandtrixie]

This goes out to all the owners/operators of rescues out there. I live in Omaha, Ne and have recently been looking to add to our guinea family Unfortunately, there isn't a single rescue in our area and our shelters don't have much to offer, so our quest continues.

This has me thinking though.....Maybe Omaha needs a cavy rescue?......and maybe I'm just the lady to start it? I have been searching craigslist and I am finding sooooo many piggers that need homes, yet owners want to charge people for something they obviously don't want (in most cases...some people love their pigs but can't keep them). Many are asking $25 or more and do not include cages or supplies. I totally get they have invested more than that into their "pet", and I see no problem wanting to recoup funds, but at what cost? Keeping an animal you don't want, don't pay attention to and can't provide for? What I'm getting at is I want to help all these piggies but lord knows I can't pay $30 a pop for them.

I have contacted some of these owners and asked about taking the piggie in for free if it needs a good home and a lot of them are telling me the reason they are selling them is because our local shelter charges $25 to surrender a piggie (obviously they have to to help cover costs and overhead) and they figure why not sell it themselves and make money instead.I tried to explain to them if all they care about is the $ and getting rid of the piggie....who knows what kind of life it will have. I'm thinking if there was a rescue in town that took in piggers for free or for less than the shelter charges, maybe these homeless or near homeless pigs would have a better chance of getting out of their current living situation and on the search for a furever home.

Sorry, just realized I went on a bit of a rant there lol.....I just saw an ad on craigslist for a piggie and the man told me he has to pay to take him to the shelter tomorrow if I don't take him BUT he has NO cage....the poor thing lives in a rubbermaid storage bin!!!! I haven't gotten my new cage yet so I don't have room for the little guy...it just wouldn't be fair......ie the reason for the rant. I'm torn about just taking him and figuring the rest out later..(thoughts on this would also be appreciated). Its obvious, this guy can't provide for him and would have trouble paying the surrender fee. I'm fearful this little guy will be stuck in the bin forever or worse! Ok rant done lol.

Now, What I would like to know is how much financially will I need to invest to start a small rescue? I have the room, I'm a stay at home mom with school age children so I have the time and helpers, and I have my hubbies support(He is also extremely gifted in marketing and procuring donations). So lay it on me...the good the bad and the ugly! I need to make a well informed decision. I have rescued 1 teddy cavy from craigslist and successfully rehomed him. My two cavies are essentially rescues as well....I just loved them so much I kept them lol.

And what should I do about this craigslist cavy? I consider you all my cavy family and you've all taught me heaps of things in my ten days on the site. I check in here several times a day. I love science, particularly biology and have worked in Emergency medicine for over 10 years, but my true love is animals and I've fallen deeply in love with cavies. I put my heart and soul in EVERYTHING I do and I do not like to be told I cant accomplish something....it just gives me a reason to figure out a way to get it done though. I'm 33 years old and Ive struggled all my life to fit in....especially in the career world. I think I have found my calling, and I need all of your insite! (just a little back story on who you're helping). Thanks!!

 

[Varcoda]

wow that's a long story! personally i think it would be great if you advertised or approached craiglist listings that you would take in the cavies for free (and hopefully whatever supplies they had included), you regain the cost of caring for them when new owners pay a small fee for getting the piggies. If the piggy had been sick and sent to the vet, perhaps that cost or part of it can be passed on to potential new owners too, unless you have great donors!

you probably need to section off the room into smaller compartments so the piggies aren't mixed around getting pregnant, BUT having them all in one room would mean they have no quarantine system in place. Are you able to put rescued piggies in another part of the house before they are put in the common room?

i think it's great to save cavies, but start small and when you get the hang of things, slowly expand your rehoming service

 

[RodentCuddles]

It's late at night here, so I don't have time to read your whole post.

But we started our rescue 6 months and 2 days ago. Something which you must know is, you will not earn any money and it will cost you alot.
Unlike what @Varcoda said, In my opinion you will find it very hard to regain the cost of caring for the pigs that come in.
The adoption fees don't cover anything really. The vet care gets very costly. Even with people donating hay bales, water bottles, food bowels and some money from time to time we'd never make any slight profit. It drains your bank account.

The whole vet care (for nearly every pig that comes in), veggies, hay, water and bedding per pig will cost alot. More then an potential new owner will be willing to pay.

Some pigs will find loving (It's usually not the first people, there are some creeps whom you just wouldn't want to think of how they'd care for the pigs) homes a week or two after they get put up for adoption, others might not get adopted for even a year or so.

You will need to take quarantine very seriously. Not in the same room. For at least 2 weeks but 3 or 4 is better. Wash your hands in-between ect.
If one pig that is in the same room with the others gets sick, then you could end up with a room full of sickly pigs needing vet care.

The pigs of course will need separate cages. We currently have three 2x4 c&c cages, one 3x3 c&c cage, one 2x3 c&c cage and one 2x5.5 c&c cage set up for the pigs in the rescue.

It is an amazing thing to do. I'll post some more of my rather little experience when I have time tomorrow.
I know there are many more rescues who have been running for much longer and know more then me.

 

[mortyandtrixie]

Sorry guys, I tend to be long winded. Guess its the journalist in me that pops up from way back when. Thanks for the great info! Keep it coming! Gimme an idea on cost to start up a rescue for, say 6 piggeroos

 

[mufasa]

I wouldn't start out by advertising that you take in unwanted pigs or I think you'll be quickly overwhelmed. Begin slowly, by approaching people from Craigslist with pigs in obvious need like the storage bin piggy. That way you can get your feet wet on a controlled basis and expand later if you want to. You might not even have to advertise, as word has a way of getting around and pigs will probably start finding their way to you.

Food cost will be the least of it. Be prepared for potentially huge vet bills, especially with neglected pigs. My Borat's vet bills were over a thousand dollars.

 

[couchon]

Agreed. Food cost is nothing compared to vet bills. My two girls have been with me since they were each a month old, and one of them has never lived anywhere (except for quarantine) except in a C&C cage with organic veggies, unlimited hay, and spring water. However, she still developed a medical issue at around 3 years old, and in the past 5 month, her vet costs have been $3,000-5,000 (I haven't totaled it). The piggies you are going to be taken in will often be severly neglected, and some owners will be giving them up precisly BECAUSE they have a medical issue. They may never develop one big issue that needs a lot of diagnostics, like my girl, or they might. But even if they don't, constant vet visits for anything from a URI to bumble foot WILL add up. And medication is definitely not cheap. I honestly have no idea of the vet costs for 6 pigs - it seems like it could get huge.

Good luck with everything!

 

[KatrinaJoggers.]

I think it is worth taking the risk, there are thousands of poor unlucky little cavies out there just waiting to be rehomed, waiting to be loved and cared for. If you have the money set aside, you know it's something you are interested in, and have a passion for it, I say why not? I'm 17, and I would love to own a Cavy shelter, or small animal rescue. (It's my sideline dream) You have the helpers, and your husband is behind you. To start you off, if you are on Facebook, there are usually groups called 'Pets for sale (Where you live)' or 'Free to a good home furniture and stuff' people often sell cheap hutches and cages, and sometimes even deliver, which is useful for a rescue, maybe not the most biggest cages or hutches ever, but it's a start! Personally, I would love to be in your shoes right now, having the choice to start something like this, as I know it would be what I would LOVE to do and would put all my hard work into, and it sounds like you would too! So I say I would go for it! Good luck! Keep us updated!

 

[Razzle]

You will never ever break even from a financial view but what a return when you see the relief on one of their pretty faces when they are safe, fed and living in a clean home with room to move about. That is the huge return. Just precious. I had one little fellow run out of his hidey to touch my hand as his cage was being put into the back of my suv on rainy, cold winter day. He was living in a vancant house and was so lonely I could feel his relief to be with "someone". He is just one of the most outstanding little fellows. Someone loved him somewhere in his life. And he let out such a sigh of relief after eating a huge salad, hay and drinking that clean water that seemed so precious to him and then he settled, outstretched on his side and slept. He never hid in his hidey from the moment I met him.

 

[couchon]

Oh, one more note! I know you mention people charging a fee - that's actually very smart - it's a small way to at least try to ensure the piggies don't end up as food.

 

[KatrinaJoggers.]

Vet bills are a very big issue like said above, my Lily has had problems with bladder problems for months, on and off. All together all of her vets bills have been over around £250 in a matter of months, and thats not including nail trimming, (It's alright if you can do it yourself and feel comfortable) Quarantining pigs is a very important part, if you're bringing in a very poor looked after piggie, they could have no end of problems that you can't necessarily spot at first, put the pig in a room with the rest of your rescue pigs, it could spread and the £££/$$$ Will stack up very quickly!

Fruit and vegetables cost is expensive, to say the least for my three girls it costs about £30 - 40 pound a week, and we don't eat what we buy them! we buy ares separate. I guess it depends where you buy it from, but the fact is, in a rescue, the amount of pigs will add up quickly, and so will the food costs. And it's not like it's something that can be avoided, they need their F/V :important

But all I can say is, it sounds like it's a good idea, just as long as you know what you're getting yourself into! Let us all know what you decide to do!

 

[clb89]

Personally I could never do a rescue it isn't all rainbows and butterflies. I've heard a lot of stories of rescues spending thousands of dollars on one guinea pig only to have it die because of the conditions it was brought to them. We don't have that much money to spend. On two or three guinea pigs yes, more then that no. Also the stories of adoptions gone wrong give me heartache. I do support those who do rescues, I would probably just burn out before a year is up. One thing I have heard on here is to set limits, one can not just keep taking more and more animals in. Have to have a number from the start based on how much space you have, how much money you can spend, and overall how many animals you can give a quality life. When you hit that number don't take any more in.

 

[Iklepink]

I have 7 piggies and I spend around £300 a month on pellets, hay and veggies. I have £3500 in their piggie account which is actually quite a small amount. If something happened to all 7 that would be wiped out easily.

Even if you have a limit you would have to be prepared for all those pigs not getting along therefore a cage for each pig. Each cage would also need either fleece (detergent, machine running costs) or bedding which will stack up into hundreds of dollars very quickly.

Look at the situation very carefully work out what you would be able to handle (financially and emotionally) and see where that leaves you.
I would imagine you need to be prepared for piggies passing on you which I can tell you is possibly the most awful heartbreaking thing I have seen. You have to stick to your limits even if others desperately need your help otherwise you can get overrun or embark on the road to hoarding.

 

[Rhyue]

I personally see nothing wrong with asking some money for your animal. They might be avoiding paying the shelter a fee (note the word might) but I'd never put an animal up for adoption online somewhere with the comment "free to a good home." You're going to bring in all the creepy people who put on a nice face and then bring your pet home and feed it to a snake. By putting a fee on your animal you deter people who're only interested in getting an animal if its free. This raises questions of what sort of value they put on its life and consequently what amount of time and money they'll be willing to invest in the animal if they don't even want to pay to adopt it- if it gets sick or they're bored of it they might just dump it outside on the side of a road. They might also only be "buying" it to screw around with it because its free (chew toy for a dog, fodder for a snake, heck maybe they'll even cook it), if you attribute no value to it, why should your buyers?

You also make your animal look better by asking a fee. "Why is this animal free? Is there something wrong with it? Is it mean? Is it sick?" when people see a normal price on something they evaluate the quality to be better. If its too cheap they might pass it by thinking it to be inferior quality (I volunteer for a charity at their thrift store, you see this all the time, put 3.50 on something and everyone gives it a funny look and passes it by for a week, bump the price up to 7.50 and next minute its at the till because people think the quality is better- note: even as a thrift store we only put out items in very good condition, many people walk in thinking we're a boutique so they'd have been getting a very nice quality item for either price).

As for the Rescue thing, I think you first need to really sit down and evaluate why you're wanting to do this and how dedicated you are, this is no small endeavor. If your prompt is the lack of a cavy specific shelter and wanting a "name" to be able to take animals for free off of online post and re-home them that might not be a strong enough motivation. If the $25 a pop to bring them home from the ads seems like too much you'll quickly find yourself overwhelmed finically. Besides, its not the animals from people asking a reasonable fee (around the purchase price for the animal locally) that you need to be worried about. Yes, they might be in substandard conditions at the moment like that boy, and no, he might not be finding a new home quickly, but as I mentioned before, that might be for the best. It shows the owner will on average attract a better home for the piggy and that the owner isn't in a rush to get the animal gone, he's likely to still give it a home while looking to re-home it (maybe not the best home, but one non-the-less), not get bored and dump it outside somewhere for it to die when someone doesn't show up fast enough to avoid shelter fees. While on the topic of shelter fees, that upfront cost isn't a bad thing either, it helps to keep people from throwing an animal away willy nilly, that fee makes people think twice.

More on the shelter idea: If you actually want to run a proper shelter you should be prepared to take every animal you get to the vet, at least once, for a general check-up. It might not have a URI but it might have another hidden issue that may spread to your other pigs after quarantine (like worms) and as a shelter most people will expect you to have "okay'd" the health of the animal you're offering. They might also have an overt issue that needs immediate medical attention, either way you're going to be spending 100-1000+ dollar per animal that comes through your door, simply on vet bills if you want to run a proper rescue. Will you turn down sickly animals? Will you put down sickly animals to avoid the 1000s of dollars of treatment (if so, are you really the best place of the animal)? If you're not going to be offering an overhead fee to surrender the animal expect that you WILL be getting the sick ones. I have volunteered with shelters before, this will happen. You will also get pregnant females. Are you prepared to have to take the mother to an emergency vet in the middle of the night for a 1000+ dollar c-section to save the mother and the pups (to potentially loose them all anyway) if things go wrong? Seeing as how you'll often not have control over the mother's care during her pregnancy there very well may be a higher rate of issues. There is no way the adoption fee you ask will cover the expenses if you ever want to find your piggies homes.

You may be better off continuing to ask people online if they'd like you to find a home for their animal. You wouldn't be EXPECTED to take the animal to the vet as you would as a proper rescue and people may be willing to hand the animal over for free for your services. Preferentially approach people with "free to a good home" post because these are the highest risk pigs and the owner may just toss the animal at you to get it gone. Also, you can contact your local shelter and ask if you could volunteer with them as a FOSTER home. This way you can look after the animals while having the financial backing of the local shelter. It'll also help to avoid getting bogged up with animals since the shelter would be giving you what you can handle. They might not have a lot of GPs because they do not have the room for them, but if someone offering to be a foster shows up they might start offering more GPs.

If your still thinking about a rescue a few other considerations: Do you have the room? You will need two separate rooms for quarantine. If you do have the room, can you be sure your children will obey quarantine (washing hands, changing clothes between rooms to avoid transfer of disease)? Think about all the cages you will need, male and female only cages, maybe a separate one for a mother with babies if she isn't getting along well with others. Not all pigs will get along, you'll need some isolation cages potentially for the rare non-social pig. These add up quickly and so does the time to keep them clean. Keeping shelter cages clean is no small task.

What about adoption, who will you be adopting out to? How will you let people know you're there? Are you comfortable with potentially many people coming into you house to look at your animals? Will you only allow visits on the weekend when your husband is home (you may get some unsavory people coming into your house on the pretense of adoption- rare but always a possibility, you should always have a second adult there when a stranger comes).

There are many things to consider here and a serious thing to get involved in. I wish you the best in whatever you decided though.

 

[mortyandtrixie]

I personally see nothing wrong with asking some money for your animal. They might be avoiding paying the shelter a fee (note the word might) but I'd never put an animal up for adoption online somewhere with the comment "free to a good home." You're going to bring in all the creepy people who put on a nice face and then bring your pet home and feed it to a snake. By putting a fee on your animal you deter people who're only interested in getting an animal if its free. This raises questions of what sort of value they put on its life and consequently what amount of time and money they'll be willing to invest in the animal if they don't even want to pay to adopt it- if it gets sick or they're bored of it they might just dump it outside on the side of a road. They might also only be "buying" it to screw around with it because its free (chew toy for a dog, fodder for a snake, heck maybe they'll even cook it), if you attribute no value to it, why should your buyers?

You also make your animal look better by asking a fee. "Why is this animal free? Is there something wrong with it? Is it mean? Is it sick?" when people see a normal price on something they evaluate the quality to be better. If its too cheap they might pass it by thinking it to be inferior quality (I volunteer for a charity at their thrift store, you see this all the time, put 3.50 on something and everyone gives it a funny look and passes it by for a week, bump the price up to 7.50 and next minute its at the till because people think the quality is better- note: even as a thrift store we only put out items in very good condition, many people walk in thinking we're a boutique so they'd have been getting a very nice quality item for either price).

As for the Rescue thing, I think you first need to really sit down and evaluate why you're wanting to do this and how dedicated you are, this is no small endeavor. If your prompt is the lack of a cavy specific shelter and wanting a "name" to be able to take animals for free off of online post and re-home them that might not be a strong enough motivation. If the $25 a pop to bring them home from the ads seems like too much you'll quickly find yourself overwhelmed finically. Besides, its not the animals from people asking a reasonable fee (around the purchase price for the animal locally) that you need to be worried about. Yes, they might be in substandard conditions at the moment like that boy, and no, he might not be finding a new home quickly, but as I mentioned before, that might be for the best. It shows the owner will on average attract a better home for the piggy and that the owner isn't in a rush to get the animal gone, he's likely to still give it a home while looking to re-home it (maybe not the best home, but one non-the-less), not get bored and dump it outside somewhere for it to die when someone doesn't show up fast enough to avoid shelter fees. While on the topic of shelter fees, that upfront cost isn't a bad thing either, it helps to keep people from throwing an animal away willy nilly, that fee makes people think twice.

More on the shelter idea: If you actually want to run a proper shelter you should be prepared to take every animal you get to the vet, at least once, for a general check-up. It might not have a URI but it might have another hidden issue that may spread to your other pigs after quarantine (like worms) and as a shelter most people will expect you to have "okay'd" the health of the animal you're offering. They might also have an overt issue thneeds immediate medical attention, either way you're going to be spending 100-1000+ dollar per animal that comes through your door, simply on vet bills if you want to run a proper rescue. Will you turn down sickly animals? Will you put down sickly animals to avoid the 1000s of dollars of treatment (if so, are you really the best place of the animal)? If you're not going to be offering an overhead fee to surrender the animal expect that you WILL be getting the sick ones. I have volunteered with shelters before, this will happen. You will also get pregnant females. Are you prepared to have to take the mother to an emergency vet in the middle of the night for a 1000+ dollar c-section to save the mother and the pups (to potentially loose them all anyway) if things go wrong? Seeing as how you'll often not have control over the mother's care during her pregnancy there very well may be a higher rate of issues. There is no way the adoption fee you ask will cover the expenses if you ever want to find your piggies homes.

You may be better off continuing to ask people online if they'd like you to find a home for their animal. You wouldn't be EXPECTED to take the animal to the vet as you would as a proper rescue and people may be willing to hand the animal over for free for your services. Preferentially approach people with "free to a good home" post because these are the highest risk pigs and the owner may just toss the animal at you to get it gone. Also, you can contact your local shelter and ask if you could volunteer with them as a FOSTER home. This way you can look after the animals while having the financial backing of the local shelter. It'll also help to avoid getting bogged up with animals since the shelter would be giving you what you can handle. They might not have a lot of GPs because they do not have the room for them, but if someone offering to be a foster shows up they might start offering more GPs.

If your still thinking about a rescue a few other considerations: Do you have the room? You will need two separate rooms for quarantine. If you do have the room, can you be sure your children will obey quarantine (washing hands, changing clothes between rooms to avoid transfer of disease)? Think about all the cages you will need, male and female only cages, maybe a separate one for a mother with babies if she isn't getting along well with others. Not all pigs will get along, you'll need some isolation cages potentially for the rare non-social pig. These add up quickly and so does the time to keep them clean. Keeping shelter cages clean is no small task.

What about adoption, who will you be adopting out to? How will you let people know you're there? Are you comfortable with potentially many people coming into you house to look at your animals? Will you only allow visits on the weekend when your husband is home (you may get some unsavory people coming into your house on the pretense of adoption- rare but always a possibility, you should always have a second adult there when a stranger comes).

There are many things to consider here and a serious thing to get involved in. I wish you the best in whatever you decided though.

Thank you for the perspective! I do know I am strong enough to handle the endeavour but I do agree there is a lot of things to consider. I do agree with you on asking a small fee for adoption, I was thinking and speaking more about the people who I've contacted or met who obviously have no care for the animal but just want money. I really like your idea of volunteering to foster for the shelter! I never even thought about that as an option. I think that would be a great way to see how well this would work for me and my family. Ik running a rescue would have no financial gain for us and most likely cost us $.....I just want to do something for these animals. Thanks for the insight, this is why I love this forum....so much help here!

 

[foggycreekcavy]

People have made very good points here. The vet money is the biggest problem. I had to have a rescue pig's eye removed, then when the socket became infected he ended up in and out of the vet, and then was on antibiotics for months (and still has to go back on them periodically). This depleted my rescue account, but then two of the rescue pigs had problems and I had to dip into my family bank account. This actually happens often.

People re-homing guinea pigs on craigslist or other classified settings should charge a fee, for reasons others have gone into. And if you plan on taking in guinea pigs yourself, you really should charge a surrender fee. Otherwise you will become a dumping ground for everyone.

Rescues usually take back any animals they adopt out, and this can happen at any time. If your rescue is already full, this can be a problem.

Oh, and some pigs NEVER leave. They come in and never get adopted. You have to allow for these permanent residents. Bobby came from a large-scale backyard rescue in 2006 and he's still here. I have a large C&C with five females considered too old to adopt out, and another 2 males with chronic health problems.

Offering to foster is a good idea. My rescue has two foster homes--one fosters non-adoptable pigs, and the other fosters any pregnant or sick pigs.

 

[craftEcowgirl]

I am also starting a guinea pig rescue, but in Iowa. My friend is going to help me with the rescue. We both have had guinea pigs in our lives ever since we were very young, and I am now 42.

I would like to know if anyone has adoption forms, care sheets one can use, or templates etc?

 

[pinky]

Before taking in any guinea pigs you should develop a relationship with a good exotic vet. I'd ask if you can get discounted services since you'll be bringing guinea pigs in frequently. The other thing I'd do is find fosters who can help care for some of the guinea pigs you take in. Never give out your location in your ads so you don't end up having animals abandoned at your home. Who will care for them if you go on a trip or have to be away for an extended period of time? Do you plan to apply for non profit status or get licensed in your state? If you use regular bedding, how will you dispose of it? Some trash companies will only pick up a certain number of bags and you could exceed that amount if you have a lot of bags of used bedding.