Am I a Bad Owner for Doing This?

[cavykaitlyn]

I put it in this section because I know we have some heated debaters out there who will give me an honest opinion.

So, as some of you may know, I just got a new pig (of course I did, what else would I be here for?) and her name is Charlemagne. But it's where I got her from that warrants a discussion.

Well, I got her from WAPC. Which is a pet store. And I know this is a problem, but if you'll listen to me for a second more...

We had gone to the pet store a week or so earlier to get stuff for either my sister's fish or my OTHER sister's guinea pig (I can't remember, despite being a teen), and while I was there I was playing with this one guinea pig. She was really cute and sweet and she seemed healthy. She liked to squeal and burrow in your arms when you picked her up. And I became horribly obsessed with having her. So I didn't try to find a rescue, I didn't go to a shelter, because I saw this one pig and I couldn't get enough of her. And now I feel bad because they sold her as a THING, not as an animal. It was like PetCo in a sense. I remember when I got Loretta and Reeba (two mice, black and brown) and they wrote down the $6 purchase on a piece of paper--2x mice f. Like they weren't alive, just stuffed toys. And I felt so bad. But when I think about it in another sense, I think that no people around here would breed mice. Because there's already so many of them.

So please, my piggy friends, tell me if I'm wrong for getting her from a pet store. In July, near the end, on my birthday, I'm thinking of ordering a C&C cage kit and making her a big enough home, because I usually get money on my birthday and the cages are so much more inexpensive. I might even get her a buddy! But, I would get her from a shelter/breeder/rescue, because I like how they give adoption fees instead of prices that go up and down as they have "SALES!" on living creatures.
Thank you everyone!

 

[bpatters]

I think you know the answer to this question already.

I'm sure the pig in the store was adorable. I'm sure she deserves a wonderful life. But she was part of the breeding mill chain, and when you bought her, you created a space for the store to order another pig, born to a sow that is kept in crowded conditions, is continually pregnant, gets no medical care, and will be killed when she's no longer productive.

The only way to stop that horrible cycle is not to buy pet store pigs. Pigs that in shelters or rescues or private homes may have originally come from pet stores, but they're out of the cycle, and rescuing them does not create demand for another one to take their place.

You can't save every pig. But you can save a few of the unwanted pigs that are already in existence, and refuse to buy one that will cause another sow to suffer and another pup to be born to replace it.

I don't look at the guinea pigs in pet stores for that very reason. I want them all. But I can't handle them all, and I refuse to be part of that problem.

You'll make up your own mind, of course, about whether you did the right thing. But I hope you're not waiting for a lot of people on this forum to tell you that you did.

 

[Aleks]

In my opinion yes it was wrong, although I understand where you're coming from in getting attached to a certain piggy.
And if you get her a friend please don't get one from a breeder, get one from a rescue or shelter. The reason why we don't condone getting them from pet stores is because they get them from breeders. (That and pet stores usually don't know crap about proper piggy care, sell sick pigs, mis-sex them, etc.)

 

[CavyMama]

It's easy to get swept up in how cute they are. They are completely adorable critters, no matter where they come from. But @bpatters is right, buying from a petstore is contributing to the bad conditions that the breeding mill pigs are kept in and by buying, you opened a spot for another one to be created.

It's wonderful that you are planning to make a C&C cage for your little one and I love that you are planning to get her a buddy. You are right to want to look at shelters/rescues but avoid going to a breeder. There is already an overpopulation problem, as you will see when you visit the shelter or rescue to find your pig a friend. Breeders contribute to that problem by creating MORE pigs and buying from them helps fund that contribution.

 

[bree1818]

I don't think you're a bad owner - actually, I think anyone who likes animals and actually takes care of their animals is a good owner. Anyone who says a person's a bad owner for buying a pet from a pet store (this isn't going against the forum, just stating a comment), I'd challenge to get them to show me EVERY single thing they've done right in their life with their pets .... And then I'll show them something they've done wrong. People can be judgmental about things other people do when they're doing something wrong themselves.

However, as bpatters said, the only way to stop the vicious chain is to not buy from these chains who are famous for purchasing from mills. The fact you're considering adopting a second one from a shelter says a lot about you.

 

[CavySpirit]

Bad owner? No. Typical consumer? Yes. Sucker? Definitely, pet stores rely on it, count on it. You played right into their hands. Game over.

Damage is done. Become an advocate. The easy way is not the right way. You've learned your lesson. Move on. Teach others.

 

[clb89]

It doesn't make you a "bad owner." You are caring for the guinea pig, not neglecting or abusing. A bad owner to me is one who does not take care of the animals after they get them no matter how they obtain those animals.
Unfortunately, it does mean that you continued the cycle of breeding mills by giving the pet store money and space for more guinea pigs in which the store will then buy from the breeders. Buying from a pet store doesn't save guinea pigs it just makes even more suffer. It also means one less guinea pig was saved, or adopted from a rescue. Also nearly all animals, including mice, are over bred.

I suggest really looking at rescues and shelters for your next pet, you may be surprised what you find.

 

[Dee_E]

You did what you did. I do not think you are a 'bad' owner. Now, just give here a happy, safe home and a buddy!
Were you 'wrong', there are some who will say yes. Do YOU feel you did the 'right' thing? Are you going to give her a loving home? I bet you will.

 

[cavykaitlyn]

Thank you, dear CavySpirit, for calling me a sucker. Much appreciated I don't take criticism well. I would like if you would refrain from things like that.
I am trying to make amends, although I know I cannot completely undo the damage I have done. She will have a bigger cage and possibly a new friend in the summer, and I hope she will be happy.
Okay, so no breeders
Thank you everyone! I understand that it wasn't the right thing to do to get her from a pet store. I have to speak with my mom about looking for a rescue near here so that I can get her a friend, because my sister doesn't ever play with hers and they fight when there's that day she does.
I didn't think about the whole "making room for more" thing. And the breeding mills! I also have never heard about killing the sow when she is no longer productive. That is a petstore evil. But, we live in a place where that kind of thing happens often.
I don't feel it was the right thing to do, getting her from a petstore, but I was in a rush to get one and I had to have her.
All the answers are appreciated! Any more are welcome!

 

[EllaBellaMuffin]

Not a bad owner at all. If i were you I would get it. i know pet stores are bad, but this pig will be bought no matter what and its better if its bought by you and not some person who will dump them on the side of the road.

 

[CavyMama]

Have you taken a peek at petfinder.com? Many people don't even realize there are rescues or shelters near them that have guinea pigs for adoption. Even shelters that generally only take cats & dogs do occasionally get in hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, etc. Once you have talked to your mom about adopting a friend for your little one, I would call them and asked to be put on a calling list for when they get a guinea pig.

 

[bpatters]

I was in a rush to get one and I had to have her.

No, you didn't have to have her. You just wanted her. That's all.

 

[CavyMama]

Not a bad owner at all. If i were you I would get it. i know pet stores are bad, but this pig will be bought no matter what and its better if its bought by you and not some person who will dump them on the side of the road.

It's this kind of thought process that keeps petstores ordering more pigs and breeding mills producing more pigs. What about all the other pigs in the petstore that she didn't buy? Should she buy all those pigs too on the off chance that people with bad intentions will buy them? Trying to justify it by using flawed logic does nothing to further the cause.

 

[Dee_E]

Please, let's not let this deteriorate into an angry thread.

 

[EllaBellaMuffin]

There is no need to be rude. Last time I checked, in America, if someone wants to spend money on something in a store then they are allowed to do so. If you want to make a change, then go write your congressman and have them stop the processes you hate so much. Quite frankly, you wont further the cause over here...this is a pig friendly zone already. In the meanwhile, if someone wants to give one pig a nice home, let them do it.

 

[Wildcavy]

There is no need to be rude. Last time I checked, in America, if someone wants to spend money on something in a store then they are allowed to do so. If you want to make a change, then go write your congressman and have them stop the processes you hate so much. Quite frankly, you wont further the cause over here...this is a pig friendly zone already. In the meanwhile, if someone wants to give one pig a nice home, let them do it.

It's true in the United States you *can* buy something if you want to, but it doesn't mean you *should.* Sometimes we have to make the hard choice to not buy a pig from a store -- and I know it is hard -- in order to stop the senselessness of overbreeding and sub-standard care.

And, it is also true that one can write one's Congressman in the United States to have a law or regulation implemented. But why should we need the government to police everything? Sometimes that may be needed, but it strikes me that the point of this site is to educate. And sometimes lessons are hard.

I don't think the OP is a "bad" person. The choice was bad. The key, now, is to move and not do it again, and not encourage anyone else to, either.

 

[clb89]

I sometimes wish I had known about this forum ten years ago when my husband and I bought rats at a pet store. I didn't even know shelters and rescues had adoptions for more then cats and dogs up until a year ago. I am a researcher kind of person, so I should of known to research first. I admit to being a sucker for the cute pet store animals, fortunately I do now know about the truth behind most pet stores. It's a lesson that I had to learn.

 

[ellisa]

It's a mistake many of us here have made. I got my first pig from a pet store and so did many other long time members of this forum. This is why we advocate researching and rescuing. If I had done research before getting a pig I would have found out the horrors of pet stores and that there are other options, ie. rescues/shelters.

 

[cavykaitlyn]

Thank you @Dee_E and @CavyMama. You two seem rational enough. I will look at petfinder--it has not been something I have done for many moons. Too much sadness breeds there. But when that time comes I will get her a friend!Any more opinions? I'm a little afraid of some flaming going down, but we'll try.

 

[CavySpirit]

Thank you, dear CavySpirit, for calling me a sucker. Much appreciated I don't take criticism well. I would like if you would refrain from things like that.

Seriously? I said you were not a bad owner. You can choose to be insulted by the word sucker, that's your choice. It's the reality. Most of us are. It's why most of us stay out of pet stores. We KNOW we are suckers for the cute and the way the pet stores deceive us by playing to our heart strings to 'rescue' the poor pig out of the store -- the only thing it helps is their bottom line. It's the definition of a sucker. And if you are so thinned skinned, then next time, please do yourself a favor and do not post such a clearly asking for it thread in the kitchen and then complain about it. Geez. Do we really need another debate thread about why buying pets in pet stores is a bad idea? Do we all really need to tap dance around your need to feel okay about your purchase? It's done. You hopefully know better now, move on.