Oh...you want a guinea pig?

[LonePig]

It seems that every time someone hears that I have guinea pigs, they know of someone who knows someone who has a guinea pig they want to get rid of. And of course they eventually end up asking me....if I want their guinea pig. What's up with that?

Don't get me wrong, I do love my guinea pigs, and I would be more than happy to take them all if it was in any way possible, but as my husband stated so loudly the other day "this isn't a farm". Sadly for the guinea pigs,I am a working mom, and I have a small two bedroom apartment.

I guess what disturbs me so much, is that guinea pigs (any animal for that matter) are such a disposable pet. It seems they have virtually no meaning to some people. My question is why bother getting one in the first place! Is it just a cute idea? Then when it becomes a bother, or a burden let's dump it off somewhere else with no concern for it's well being, or heck even a glance in the other direction. Well wow what responsibility some people have.

Since I got my first guinea pig in August, I have been offered at least 4 unwanted guinea pigs from various family, friends, and co-workers. I just kind of find it sickening that people want to dump their pets off without a whim or a care?

Has anyone had this experience? It wouldn't bother me so much, only that I care, and then feel GUILTY that I can't help them all. Well I now have four guinea pigs, and that is all I can handle. I can't help but wonder what happens to the poor little things when I say

"No I'm sorry I can't take your guinea pig!"

 

[Jenni_Feathers]

I know how you feel, people are always trying to get me to take there pets. I mean just a few weeks ago my friend was trying to get me to take her brothers turtle. I mean I love animals, but I have no clue how to take care of a turtle, I dont even want it really. But it makes me feel so bad becuase they take really bad care of her, she is in a 20 gal tank and has never had any food except chep turtle pellets and they always turn off her tank heater when they watch TV cuase its loud then they forget to turn it back on. It is so annoying, I mean they are doing it because they know I'd take good care of her because I take very good care of all my pets. Sorry, I think Im ranting now.
Well at least they are trying to help the animal.

 

[Wheek Weak]

Two words...pet stores.

We have had 9 guinea pigs in the past 6 years. All of them were bought at pet stores for children. We've heard the same words so many times we can practically say them as the person getting rid of the pig is saying them..."we bought it for our kid(s) six months ago...they don't pay attention to it anymore...it just sits there in the corner...I'm tired of taking care of it...it doesn't 'do' anything...it just acts scared...no one can hold it..."etc.

Along with..."no it's never had hay...we only give it a carrot now and then...we feed it this stuff from the pet store (the usual junk with seeds, etc.)...we paid a lot for this cage (12"x15", or something similar)"...etc.

Guinea pigs seem to be an impulsive buy type thing. Unfortunately, the little care information the pet stores give (if any) is usually totally wrong and benefits only the store (not the pig).

What's really frustrating is people who buy guinea pigs, then ask you hundreds of questions about their needs, etc. Then totally ignore your answers, advice, warnings, etc., until the pig dies. Been there, done that a few times also. Grrrrrrr.

 

[guineapigluver1]

I am so tired of parents buying there children pets because "I PROMISE I'll take care of it" and once their tired of it, the parents end up taking care of it, and then they get sick of it, and the animal ends up in the streets or in a shelter or rescue!

 

[ferndalezoo]

An average day in my home:

"You want a guinea pig?"
"You want a snake?"
"You want another dog?"
"You want another cat?"
"Rats? You have rats? Want another?!"
"How about Degus? Do you want a degu?"
"I have a chinchilla I don't want. Do you want it?"

It goes ON and ON. The phrase "get rid of...." gets on my nerves more than just about any other in the english language.

I wish I could take them all. Actually, I don't. I wish that I didn't NEED to take any of them. I wish their owners would step up and do what they need to do.

 

[ferndalezoo]

I am so tired of parents buying there children pets because "I PROMISE I'll take care of it" and once their tired of it, the parents end up taking care of it, and then they get sick of it, and the animal ends up in the streets or in a shelter or rescue!

This is probably my biggest "pet peeve"...... HOW is "losing interest" in a pet even an OPTION? In my home, it's not. My children each have several pets, and we as a family have several others. Our children know that dogs need walked, even in the rain, or the snow. They know that everything that eats, also poops, and the poop needs to be cleaned up. They know that the animals can't feed themselves. They are PROUD of their involvement in our care of our own pets, and the assorted fosters we've had over the years. "losing interest" in a pet has never ocurred to them. It's simply not an option.

 

[LonePig]

"Get rid of"....I hate that one too. I saw a post on Craigslist awhile back, it was in the pet's section. The person posted..

"You people make sick, you would get rid of your children if it were legal."

While a little extremist, I couldn't help agreeing with her a bit in my head. I guess it's just so difficult for me to understand how people can care so little for their animals, because I am on the other end of the spectrum?

I don't know I'm pretty much at a loss for words, it's so frustrating. There is such a problem with the entire pet industry. Blehh.

 

[ferndalezoo]

I'm sure that to some people, my family is "extreme". We recently had a very large bill come due, which I knew would take up most of my partner's paycheck that week. I had just been paid (I get paid in cash at my job, but I don't work a "normal" schedule-- sometimes it's busy, and the money is great, and sometimes it's not), and the first thing we did was go out and get an extra bag of food for each type of animal, and stock up on veggies (for the lizards and the "rodents"), and hay. Other families would stockpile human groceries, but my priority was to see that the animals would have enough to get through. As it turned out, my work picked up about that time, and we didn't have to make any real changes, but we would have been prepared to.

I understand the occasional, actual NEED to find a new home for a pet, but in those circumstances, the phrase "get rid of" wouldn't come into use, would it? Sigh.

I guess it's about the family, though, and how the kids are brought up. I grew up on a farm. We had horses and rabbits (200+ of them at one time) and dogs and cats as far back as I can remember. We were mucking out stalls, cleaning hutches (the rabbits were in a heated barn), and scooping poop before we started kindergarten. It was simply how life WAS. My own kids have never known life without at least a pet or two. Sometimes it's been "just a cat", because that's all I could have at my apartment, but it's always been SOMETHING, and they've always been involved in their care.

 

[guineapigluver1]

This is probably my biggest "pet peeve"...... HOW is "losing interest" in a pet even an OPTION? In my home, it's not. My children each have several pets, and we as a family have several others. Our children know that dogs need walked, even in the rain, or the snow. They know that everything that eats, also poops, and the poop needs to be cleaned up. They know that the animals can't feed themselves. They are PROUD of their involvement in our care of our own pets, and the assorted fosters we've had over the years. "losing interest" in a pet has never ocurred to them. It's simply not an option.

I know. I have NEVER gotten tired of a pet!! Ever!

 

[Maisiepaisie]

Ferndelazoo you must be very proud of your children. I've brought mine up the same way - to have consideration for animals. Our pigs are family members. Sometimes I make my kids wait for their meal while I prepare veg for the pigs first.

I think the problem is its been so ingrained into society that animals are not important. I've never seen a prison sentence longer than 3 months for even the worst cases of animal cruelty. The government do next to nothing to help animals, even charging VAT on vet bills like its some kind of luxury (which some pet owners seem to think) rather than a necessity. Most parents don't teach their kids respect for animals and unfortunately most of those kids will grow up with the same attitude.

 

[chexxy]

You know, I was reviewing all my animals yesterday, and only bought 1 or 2 from a pet store. I have many pets including Rabbits, turtles, guinea pigs, goats, pot bellied pig, fish, hamster, bird, and I take care 0f 2 ponies, train them, and I am starting to train another girls pony, and I have a cat, and a dog!. My mom does all of nothing. She drives me to the goats, and pays for most feed. I take care of all animals bymyself and it angers me when people are like "Oh, yeah want my..." 2 of my bunnies were given to me, one turtle was given to me, pig (potbellied) was given to me, one goat was given to me. Just like toys, it is sad. I could never be like "Hey, want my goat?" I cry when I have to leave for 3 days! It is so annoying!

 

[Silverbeat]

Since I first got involved in animal rescue [a few years ago, maybe 3 or 4] I've been asked countless times. Seriously I've probably been asked on about 50 separate occasions. As people above said, I can understand the occasional "There is no other option-- I have to give up my pet" but that's not the same as "Oh yeah I thought my six year old who's constantly glued to the TV and isn't taking care of any of his other responsibilities [clean room, homework, etc] begged for it so I gave in." I think that the problem is that parents don't see small animals as just that-- animals. And we can blame pet stores for that. "A great starter pet" "Ideal for young children" etc. I'm sure most/all of us have seen or heard this in our local pet stores. It's not a tool of education, it's a living, breathing animals that has specific needs and requirements.
"You people make sick, you would get rid of your children if it were legal."
My mom runs a daycare and I can tell you that people like this exist. And, at least in my area, are quite common.

 

[HowietheGreat]

(Heavy sigh) I think we have all, unfortunately been there too many times.

 

[Biscuit]

It's hard to keep things like this from making you a bitter person. It's been the struggle of my life, fighting against the bitterness and rage resulting from all the big and little injustices I've seen.

 

[deathnotronic]

I've only had two people ask if I wanted their guinea pigs and I adopted one of them! I think I might take in the second too! I cannot believe that someone would do that! What were you thinking when you got it in the first place is exactly what I asked my friend (his aunt wants to get rid of her pig) I know I have the means and funds necessary to take care of these pigs so I adopt them. The new pig in question lives in a nasty house with three boys and a mom. Their house smells like cat pee and is just disgusting. I would feel horrible if I didn't help this little piggy.

 

[SusanneC]

I know this sentence too... and my husband is into rescuing just like me, so we always have about 25 to 35 cavys, three or four hamsters, a dog, four cats and some mice.

We rescue the amount we can handle and rehome most of them, about 20 cavys and all the other animals will stay until they die - the ones which were born here, the ones which were ill and for whoom little lives we have fighted, the blind, handycapped and too small ones, the difficult ones.

Even our dog came to us because the owners said it would have biten them - they kept him in a cellar for two years. Our whole apartment is ful of pets, the cavys have 168 square feet in our living room.

 

[piggly wiggly]

These statements are all too familiar. I too get the question "do you want a ----". It is usually a dog or a cat or two, or a hamster. I have even had my inlaws ask me these questions, and my response to them is, are you for real? I am involved in dog rescue, and have fostered cats before aswell. So when they say something so stupid to me, I just blow up.
My kids also know that pets are forever. My kids have grown up with pets since birth. If we get in a foster dog that is nervous, or needs it's space, my daughter has offered up her bedroom and slept on the couch. My kids are very sweet when it comes to helping new fosters, of course they are great with our herd of animals, but they know fosters come in scared and mistreated for the most part, so they know these guys need a little extra touch. Most of our dogs come from puppy mill raids. It is amazing how many of them take to the kids right away, and follow them every where, my kids turn into security blankets. I make up a room for the new dog, and it ends up in bed with my kids. lol

 

[Char-x]

This makes me sick too. I hold my hands up that when I was little and we got Guinea Pigs for a little while we ended up having to re-home them because we didn't feel we could give them the care they deserved when my dog became very ill, but we checked all the homes etc and made a real effort to make sure they were atleast getting a decent home. I also had to give up my rabbit to a rabbit rescue because he was a rabbit who was never shut in a hutch, he had a whole shed and would come out hours on end in the garden to play but we couldnt do that anymore because everyone in my neighbourhood seemed to suddenly get cats and they were always out their stalking him and it ended up with him being unhappy in the shed all the time. But I was devastated when all these had to go, I was really young, looking back on it I wish I didn't let them go but I know when it came down to my rabbit it probably was best for him, don't know about the Guinea Pigs though.

I hate it when people take the whole "getting rid" of an animal so lightly. My young cousin always is getting new pets, infact the reason I have Hoover my male Guinea Pig was because he lost interest in him and kept forgetting to feed him etc He was outside in all weathers, not protected and alone. We kept pestering them to hand him over to us but it kept coming back with "he said he will try taking better care of him now". Never happened so thankfully he is with us now. Poor thing came with Tesco Guinea Pig food which was a luxery to him since we found out when they forgot to get food for weeks on end he was fed stale bread. *sigh*.

They tried to give me their hamster too but I have no idea really about hamsters, thankfully they found a good home for it a month or so later though. My cousin has stick insects now and he does actually seem to be taking care of them, just got to wait and see how long it lasts.

 

[Mommy Of One]

Just recently I took up working in a bird store called 'First Flight', and I usually wind up talking into depth with customers about birds and I do come across people who say, 'Oh, well I have a cockatoo, a pair of lovebirds and a sun conure, do you want another cockatoo?? They are just too much work for me..' I have been asked maybe once or twice if I wanted a third pig, I can honestly barely handle the two birds, two dogs, and two pigs as it is.

 

[SusanneC]

Well I heard the question today - once again. Friends of us get the cavy of a collegue, he is a boar, four years old and alone in the smallest pet store cage which is sold. The owners say he has the cats who play with him. Well, we will have to get him neutered and find a new home for the poor Krümel. but what shoulf we do? The next shelter is too far away, so it`s our job once again.