New owner

[Piggersrule]

Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten. is a great place to look for a good healthy adoptable piggy companion for your piggy. I got my first piggy from a petstore and I was very lucky that my Pumpkin was very healthy and NOT pregnant but that isn't always the case. Most are usually sick. Here is a useful link from this forum about petstore, please read through this. Please, we want you to ask question. There are alot of people here who can answer ANY questions you may have.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...e-breeding-care-housing-disaster-threads.html

 

[seagirl96]

Right piggersrule re most are usually sick. I bought one piggy from Petsmart that was sick so I went to a different pet store and got a pregnant one. Next I tried a breeder & only got mites; the piggy had the mites, not me. Fortunately I kept looking on the net until I found this web site. It's a good thing I did because apparently I have to learn by making LOTS of mistakes.

 

[Piggersrule]

Actually my first 2 piggies came from the petstores than I smartened up. Fostering and adoption is the way to go to insure a healthy piggy. Like I said, I was real lucky that my store bought piggies were healthy and not pregnant. I wish I could say the same for the thousands that aren't healthy in pet shops.

 

[seagirl96]

I misspoke in my post on 5/2. There were 15 piggies living in a twenty gallon aquarium, not 18. You can see some of them on petfinder.com in a Connecticut rescue. Thanks Cindy for rescuing them!

 

[NickM]

OK, the way I look at it..

No matter what, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, humans are going to die every day. Naturally or murdered, suffering is all around us, affecting much more than cavies. I can not believe how rude some people have been to this new member because she supported a pet store. That pet store animal, almost surely, was not taken good care of. But does this not warrant the cavy a chance at getting a warm home with a caring owner, such as nicanette?

EVERY PIG OUT THERE IS BEING RESCUED WHEN SHE COMES TO A HOME! Either rescued from certain death in a gas chamber or rescued from a bad pet store home. I don't care where shes coming from, no piggie deserves rescue while the other does not. They are all equal to me.

I WISH I could save every cavy out there. If I had the money, I would make a piggie paradise and make sure every one was saved from suffering, but that will never happen. Pet stores will always sell mis-treated cavies and I really do not see it ever stopping. Thus, those guineas deserve a great home just as much as ANY other. But rest assured, I inspect every pet store I go to and threaten managers for mis-treating ANY small animal they own. We can all make a difference, but we will never, ever save every little guy out there.:sad:

I am sorry, I know how passionate you all are about pet store piggies, but I just can not get to the point of being discriminatory against those guinea pigs. Chester was in a little cage, shared with 2 others. It was not the cleanest little home. I took him out of that pet store, giving them my money, but Chester loves his life now. And he was sick, but not any longer, because I spent a ton of money getting him back to speed. Perhaps he would have DIED in that pet store. And no matter what, the big pet stores will never ever go out of business if everyone stopped buying small animals there. If only we could REFORM the system, and keep cavies out of stores. But that will never happen...That is reality.

nicanette...your little buddy will need a lot of close attention to watch for sickness, pregnancy and all that...You are doing the right thing, I can see your rather intent on giving her the BEST care, which is great! She surely was not getting it at Pet-Smart. Good luck with everything, feel free to contact me because I have a pet store piggy too, and I am proud for saving him.

 

[CavyLove]

I agree with NickM. Lets not be rude. Instead, lets spend our time EDUCATING. Obviously she couldnt drive the 7 hours that some of us can drive to pick up a guinea pig. Being civil to one another is the best way to go.

OK, the way I look at it..

No matter what, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, humans are going to die every day. Naturally or murdered, suffering is all around us, affecting much more than cavies. I can not believe how rude some people have been to this new member because she supported a pet store. That pet store animal, almost surely, was not taken good care of. But does this not warrant the cavy a chance at getting a warm home with a caring owner, such as nicanette?

EVERY PIG OUT THERE IS BEING RESCUED WHEN SHE COMES TO A HOME! Either rescued from certain death in a gas chamber or rescued from a bad pet store home. I don't care where shes coming from, no piggie deserves rescue while the other does not. They are all equal to me.

I WISH I could save every cavy out there. If I had the money, I would make a piggie paradise and make sure every one was saved from suffering, but that will never happen. Pet stores will always sell mis-treated cavies and I really do not see it ever stopping. Thus, those guineas deserve a great home just as much as ANY other. But rest assured, I inspect every pet store I go to and threaten managers for mis-treating ANY small animal they own. We can all make a difference, but we will never, ever save every little guy out there.:sad:

I am sorry, I know how passionate you all are about pet store piggies, but I just can not get to the point of being discriminatory against those guinea pigs. Chester was in a little cage, shared with 2 others. It was not the cleanest little home. I took him out of that pet store, giving them my money, but Chester loves his life now. And he was sick, but not any longer, because I spent a ton of money getting him back to speed. Perhaps he would have DIED in that pet store. And no matter what, the big pet stores will never ever go out of business if everyone stopped buying small animals there. If only we could REFORM the system, and keep cavies out of stores. But that will never happen...That is reality.

nicanette...your little buddy will need a lot of close attention to watch for sickness, pregnancy and all that...You are doing the right thing, I can see your rather intent on giving her the BEST care, which is great! She surely was not getting it at Pet-Smart. Good luck with everything, feel free to contact me because I have a pet store piggy too, and I am proud for saving him.

 

[seagirl96]

Thpoint is that we are trying to do exactly what NickM would like to see: "If only we could REFORM the system, and keep cavies out of stores."

I don't care about putting the stores out of business, I just want them to stop selling live animals. It is a realistic goal. Public opinion is a powerful force. Most pet stores don't sell dogs any more. Why? Public opinion! The clearest way to express your displeasure with pet stores who sell live animals is by NOT buying from them. There are so many threads here on this subject and people have said it better than I am saying it, so please take a look when you have time. You may change your mind.

 

[NickM]

What is said is that the public force behind dogs is huge. The force behind small animals is just little pockets of people like us that fall in love with critters in ways very few others understand. Everyone but one girl and her mother who are critter lovers thinks I am out of my mind for even taking my cavy to a vet, let alone buying him anti-biotics. When I tell people I would get Chester x-rays if he needed them, they burst out laughing at me. The same is usually not true for dogs or cats. The population supports "smarter", less exotic animals, but they are cruel toward our little friends.

I believe we are at the stage of pre-force. We need to gain respect and support, because as far as I am concerned, we have no ammo for an attack against critter cruelty.

I am sorry, I have helped sidetrack this thread even more! It's hard to resist the soapbox.

 

[*CaVyCrAzEd*]

I agree with seagirl96 about public opinion being a very strong force.

And no matter what, the big pet stores will never ever go out of business if everyone stopped buying small animals there. If only we could REFORM the system, and keep cavies out of stores. But that will never happen...That is reality.

That is not reality. You can't give up before you give it all you got. There are so many things we have accomplished when we try hard enough. There's even one pet store I know of called "RabbitEARS" that gets small animals from shelters and rescues like New Haven Small Animal Rescue in Novato, takes very good care of them, with clean cages and a very knowledgable staff with different people that know about the different animals, and adopts them out (application and all) to responsible owners.

And, nicanette, have you tried craigslist? There is usually piggies there looking for homes.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

. And no matter what, the big pet stores will never ever go out of business if everyone stopped buying small animals there. If only we could REFORM the system, and keep cavies out of stores. But that will never happen...That is reality.

And you know this how? Supply and demand suggests differently. No one buys, they stop ordering them from the pet mills slowly and surely. If you want to keep cavies out of the store and stop the pet mills/backyard breeders, DON'T BUY THEM. It's very simple.

You aren't reforming the system if you're buying animals. That isn't looking at the bigger picture.

 

[NickM]

Supply and demand is not that simple. There are outside factors which shift the supply and demand curves. Demand needs to be shifted to the left, or more simply, reduced, in order for suppliers to, well, reduce their supply.

Cavy enthusiasts refusing to buy from pet stores will have only a negligible impact on the market for pet store guinea pigs. I am willing to bet 95% of pet store guinea pigs are bought by ill-informed families and children.

Now, how will a small group of enthusiasts possibly discourage all those potential buyers of pet store cavies? Well, this is where the social science of economics kicks in. The market for guinea pigs does not adjust itself to the socially optimal quantity. Furthermore, small groups, like us, can not make a significant impact on demand by simply getting all fired up and telling people off for supporting a pet store.

I wish this was all as simple as you say it is. But, if it were, small animals would already be long gone from store shelves. And as I stressed before, exotic animals have minimal support from the public. The guinea pig has never had it easy through-out its existence; ever. This is an incredibly uphill battle; I hate it as much as anyone. I believe only government intervention, as in law, can protect our animals. Its a sick world.

 

[maddie_jo22]

I have to fully agree with NickM. Not trying to be right wing, left wing here, just stating my own opinion. When I made my first thread when joining, I was accused of being a breeder and also put down for going by what a book said. As this_lil_piggy told me

"No one is putting you down. A large majority of us bought our first pigs at pet stores, and had no clue how to take care of them or that the pet store information was bad. We are here to help guide you take the best care of them...if we didn't give you all the information above, we wouldn't be helping you much. We are informing you, not blaming you."

she was nice enough to tell me that instead of judging the way I had my babies. The other replies on the thread made me feel really unsecure about this site. Some of you want to bash our heads in whenever we tell you we got our guinea pig at a store. We all start somewhere right? As Nick pointed out, getting an animal at a pet store is saving its life. I thought this is what yall wanted to save them? Yea there are adoption places and stuff, but isn't a pet store almost the same as getting a helpless piggie from an adoption agency? They are mistreated in the store too, don't they deserve a chance to be saved as well? I'm not giving up on saving these wonderful animals, it's just that no matter how hard you push some things we cannot change. Well this is just my rambling opinion disagree if you want but I stand next to NickM with this one. Us "newbies" as yall like to call us, are here to learn, not to feel rejected, insecure, or insulted. We just want to find out what to do. Is that so much to ask without being told off?

 

[crazywiggy]

I can't believe how many times a thread ends up like this one.... with someone claiming that it doesn't matter if you buy or adopt, or claiming that we can't make a difference.

When you buy from a pet store a number of things happen.

1) You reward the pet store, by giving them your custom - and money. You are saying "it is good to mistreat animals, I will pay you to do it"
2) The pet store sells animals, so they buy new ones in, thus they give money to mills and back yard breeders. This tells these people "Animal cruelty is great, well done, have more money for abusing animals".
3) The breeder realises they can make money so they breed more, to replace the ones the pet store just sold. That's another female piggie that possibly dies as a result of being back-bred yet again. That's more piggies kept in cramped, dirty conditions, with inadequate housing, food love, vet care etc.
4) The nearby rescue has too many piggies (as a result of the above things happening). So either - a new one turns up and they have to turn it away to whatever fate it may suffer - OR - they take the new one in and euthanase one of the older ones.

Overall - when you buy one piggie from a pet store you support / encourage / pay for people to abuse animals. You also condemn at least 3 other piggies to a possible death (the one in rescue, the mom, the litter mates).

Supply and demand is very simple. If the majority of people stopped purchasing piggies from pet shops they would stop selling them, simple as that. Buying in stock they can't sell would be a waste of money, especially as they have to pay for the care of these animals in the meantime. When we stop buying, they will stop selling.

Nick is right, currently there aren't enough of us to do this. That is exactly WHY we try to educate people. The internet is a great place to find information, and many people use it. So sites like this and guinealynx etc do a great job of educating people - litterally thousands of normal pet owners visit and learn, even if they never join or post in the forum. Then we tell people by word of mouth, write letters etc. We do what we can to educate the public, to teach them why they should adopt, and yes it will make a difference. Maybe not today, but soon.

One thing I will say is that to educate and inform people you have to be understanding, respectful and civilised. There is no excuse for rudeness. Certainly some people on this thread were out of order in the way they responded. Everybody makes mistakes. Not everyone is aware of the plight of animals in rescue or overpopulation or byb's. If we are nasty and accusing and rude they will assume we are crazy horrible people and walk away learning nothing.

 

[VoodooJoint]

Cavy enthusiasts refusing to buy from pet stores will have only a negligible impact on the market for pet store guinea pigs. I am willing to bet 95% of pet store guinea pigs are bought by ill-informed families and children.

Rabbit enthusiasts put enough pressure on Petsmart that they no longer sell rabbits. The pressure they put on Petco is making them spay/neuter all the rabbits they sell.

Bird enthusiasts and PETA put enough pressure on Petsmart and Petco that they no longer sell large birds.

Ferret enthusiasts caused Petsmart to stop selling ferrets a long time ago.

We can make a difference if we are only willing to try and not give up the fight. A defeatist or apathetic attitude will accomplish nothing.

On a separate note: Beating up a new member because they bought from a petstore is not productive. It's time to let go of where she got the pig and concentrate on insuring it's health and happiness. Hopefully if she chooses to get another pet she will allow us to help her locate adoptables in her area.

 

[mommyoffive]

Bird enthusiasts and PETA put enough pressure on Petsmart and Petco that they no longer sell large birds.

Ferret enthusiasts caused Petsmart to stop selling ferrets a long time ago.

I dont know were you got your info from, but large birds are still sold at petsmart. One of the stores near us has a macaw. I dont know if these are considered large birds, but we still sell Rosella's and Conure's as well.

A customer also informed me that she bought her ferret at a Nevada Petsmart. I knwo none of the California Petsmart can sell ferrets, because their illigal in California.

 

[Ledasmom]

I am willing to bet 95% of pet store guinea pigs are bought by ill-informed families and children.

How do you reduce the numbers of ill-informed families and children? By informing them of the problems with pet stores selling pigs. When I was young I had two guinea pigs bought from pet stores. Now I know better; I would never buy one from a pet store again, and, importantly, neither would my children. When you teach one person to do better you are not teaching only that person, but potentially every person that person might come in contact with.
If you look at the situation today versus the situation yesterday, no - not much change. Today versus ten years from now? Who knows? A year ago I didn't know there was such a thing as a guinea-pig rescue. We're all educable.

 

[seagirl96]

Forty years ago, very few people took their dogs or cats to the vet. Everyone assumed it was okay to buy a dog from apet store. Now most people know better. That is progress through education. My favorite rescuer will be on Connecticut television next week. She will be educating people. If each of us shares what we know, eventually it becomes public knowledge.

Does it take a long time? Yes!

Is it worth the effort? I think so, as do most people here.

When did people discover that dolphins were intelligent mammals, not fish? Not that many years ago. Now most countries protect them because of public opinion. Our laws are based on public opinion, i.e. what most people think is right.

 

[TheSnufflenoses]

Personally, I think there is at least ONE thing the cavy-lovers on this site do that totally works against their purpose.

A majority of the cavy-lovers on this site have a tendency to condemn, yell, attack, and criticize the new people on this site who arrive with pet store pigs. It doesn't accomplish education or change because threatened people go into flight or fight response, not listen and learn.

As a result of the attack, the owner will leave crying. Their current pigs will probably never reach the level of care they could have had if the owner had stayed on this site and learned. Their food and bedding will be bought from a pet store selling animals. Any future pets-- including more cavies because many times people who fall in love with them will want more later-- will continue to be bought from a pet store rather than adopted from a rescue. Their children will be raised to think its okay to shop at pet stores selling animals. They won't ever pass on the anti-pet store knowledge to friends, family, or neighbors. All of this because of unkindness and a lack of restraint.

I'm one of the ones who didn't know better and bought from a petstore. I came to this site and nearly left when my boyfriend and I read a thread where a young girl got attacked for buying a pig when it was very very clear she just didn't know any better and only wanted to learn how to care for it best. My boyfriend got attacked for his post trying to defend her (albeit in his way, not mine).

But I STAYED, despite feeling like I could be the next horrible person to get attacked when my secret came out. My boyfriend and I are in love with our piggies and I can see that we will undoubtedly have 3 pairs more before our life is over. And you know what?

If I had gone with my first response and run from this site crying like many people seem to, I would probably buy them from a pet store because I would never have had a chance to learn here why pet stores are bad. But since I have stayed, I have learned about pet stores and I won't buy another animal from them again and I will tell others to do the same. The harsher people on this site made it hard to stay here and learn that knowledge, but I have.

NOW I know that you only do it because you love these piggies so darned much. Now I know that the angry posts are just because you have to fight the same battle time and time again and you are frustrated people don't know better by now. Now I know that to know animals are being mistreated and breeded just kills you inside. Now I realize that you aren't mad at the uneducated owner, you are mad at the world for not treating the little piggies better and you just can't help but take out that anger on anyone who isn't part of the solution. I know that now... but if I hadn't stuck around I would have never known.

Please, please, please... EDUCATE KINDLY. Kindly give them a rational argument on why they shouldn't buy pets from pet stores. Sure, you can't undo their first purchase... but you CAN make a difference in their second, third, etc. And you can make a difference in whether their children grow up to believe in buying pets from stores, and whether one of their neighbors does. You can make those HUGE differences just buy being KIND and SUPPORTIVE while also giving them a convincing argument they can learn and pass on to others. This community is such a wonderful thing, so let newcomers see that. Don't make people feel bad for not knowing better once, help envelope them in this educated cavy-loving community so they'll know better for the rest of their lives.

 

[Piggersrule]

If we all can work together here we can accomplish our mission on stopping the petstore industry. When people are being chased away they will continue to purchase their pets at petstores, reguardless of what we believe in. Explaining to new people in a friendly way why petstores are bad will go a long way and they will understand why our mission is so important and will want to join us in our fight to stop petstores and breeder mills.

 

[maddie_jo22]

Personally, I think there is at least ONE thing the cavy-lovers on this site do that totally works against their purpose.

A majority of the cavy-lovers on this site have a tendency to condemn, yell, attack, and criticize the new people on this site who arrive with pet store pigs. It doesn't accomplish education or change because threatened people go into flight or fight response, not listen and learn.

As a result of the attack, the owner will leave crying. Their current pigs will probably never reach the level of care they could have had if the owner had stayed on this site and learned. Their food and bedding will be bought from a pet store selling animals. Any future pets-- including more cavies because many times people who fall in love with them will want more later-- will continue to be bought from a pet store rather than adopted from a rescue. Their children will be raised to think its okay to shop at pet stores selling animals. They won't ever pass on the anti-pet store knowledge to friends, family, or neighbors. All of this because of unkindness and a lack of restraint.

I'm one of the ones who didn't know better and bought from a petstore. I came to this site and nearly left when my boyfriend and I read a thread where a young girl got attacked for buying a pig when it was very very clear she just didn't know any better and only wanted to learn how to care for it best. My boyfriend got attacked for his post trying to defend her (albeit in his way, not mine).

But I STAYED, despite feeling like I could be the next horrible person to get attacked when my secret came out. My boyfriend and I are in love with our piggies and I can see that we will undoubtedly have 3 pairs more before our life is over. And you know what?

If I had gone with my first response and run from this site crying like many people seem to, I would probably buy them from a pet store because I would never have had a chance to learn here why pet stores are bad. But since I have stayed, I have learned about pet stores and I won't buy another animal from them again and I will tell others to do the same. The harsher people on this site made it hard to stay here and learn that knowledge, but I have.

NOW I know that you only do it because you love these piggies so darned much. Now I know that the angry posts are just because you have to fight the same battle time and time again and you are frustrated people don't know better by now. Now I know that to know animals are being mistreated and breeded just kills you inside. Now I realize that you aren't mad at the uneducated owner, you are mad at the world for not treating the little piggies better and you just can't help but take out that anger on anyone who isn't part of the solution. I know that now... but if I hadn't stuck around I would have never known.

Please, please, please... EDUCATE KINDLY. Kindly give them a rational argument on why they shouldn't buy pets from pet stores. Sure, you can't undo their first purchase... but you CAN make a difference in their second, third, etc. And you can make a difference in whether their children grow up to believe in buying pets from stores, and whether one of their neighbors does. You can make those HUGE differences just buy being KIND and SUPPORTIVE while also giving them a convincing argument they can learn and pass on to others. This community is such a wonderful thing, so let newcomers see that. Don't make people feel bad for not knowing better once, help envelope them in this educated cavy-loving community so they'll know better for the rest of their lives.

Thank you so much Snuffle for pointing that out. I still feel unsecure about the way I am taking care of my guinea's due to people wanting to attack for stuff we came here to learn about. With my first thread I was accused of being a breeder and attacked for various other things. When I replied to the responses I was then blamed for having an attitude. Of course I had an attitude because I'm very defensive when people make accusations they don't know the full story about. Some of these people are too quick to judge or do not read too well. When I got off and picked up my babies I could not help but to cry. Yall please understand the we are here to learn, not to be judged or accused, but to be educated. The other day, I came really close to giving my guineas away to a friend. Thought better of it though, would miss them too much plus I love to hear them make their little squeaks after coming home from work.