The International Guinea Pig Adventure

[BabyGrl]

Can we please make a requirement of posting Charlie to send him certified. Then there will be an actual way to track him and no more "losing" him in the mail? Or even to just get a certificate of mailing to show proof of mailing him. Then at least if an issue like this arises again we can request to see the proof of posting.

OPM I am just going to drive Charlie to you lol.

 

[Susan9608]

I think sending Charlie certified is a good idea; however, the two times Charlie has disappeared, the members who last had him seem to have disappeared. It's no good to have something cerified if the members don't ever come back to post it.

So a certified thing is good, but what else could we do to keep people from disappearing with him?

 

[wickedrodent]

Maybe the fact that the person before them has their address and if they end up "losing" charlie the person before them could report them to the cops with stolen property?

Also.. maybe everyone should have to sign some sort of contract that says they will not keep Charlie for more than a week, and that they promise to send him on..?

 

[candypigpig]

Maybe the fact that the person before them has their address and if they end up "losing" charlie the person before them could report them to the cops with stolen property?

Also.. maybe everyone should have to sign some sort of contract that says they will not keep Charlie for more than a week, and that they promise to send him on..?

I think that reporting to the cops for "stolen property" is a bit much.I do think we should certify charlie and i dont know who we could do a contract. I DO think that we need to have an age limit.

Give it a little more time, charlie is comming from another country. so we will see. OK well i'll still keep my eyes open.

 

[BabyGrl]

Well then maybe those memebers under 18 need to have their parents permission to participate.

 

[fairysari]

I agree that we should get tracking numbers (I know he had a tracking number on his way to me, and when I sent him). It only costs like a dollar more.

And I also think there should be an age limit. I think 18 is the only age we could realistically choose. Minors shouldn't be sending their addresses to anyone, in my humble opinion, anyway.

I'm also kind of curious how he got sent to the wrong person? I mean how did he get the wrong address when the list is up there. It's all so confusing.

I laughed out loud at that police thing. There's no way the cops would care about it at all, and they'd probably think you were crazy if you called them. My boyfriend's car was broken into recently, parked right outside our house. The window was smashed and the stereo ripped out and stolen. There was also another lady who had her car broken into the same night. Called the cops, and they took a 'report' but wouldn't even come out to look at it, they knew there was nothing they could do. So I really think they would just think a not-mailed stuffed animal is just a joke. They have more important crimes to be spending time on.

I also think we need to have more updates in the thread while you have Charlie... not just putting them in the gallery, but post a story about his adventure too! That way if there's no updates, we might realise sooner and be able to start pestering the person to send him sooner .

 

[wickedrodent]

Thats terrible about your car Sari..

Yeah.. I was thinking the same thing about the police thing after I sent it.. but for people who dont know that they actually wouldnt do anything (minors) then its a good way into scaring them into sending Charlie.. hehe

 

[Coiler]

Hi everyone, I was thinking about a crochet cavie made by Voodoo ! I wrote to her and will see was she thinks of it when I'm home, I'm at work now. And it would be a great idea to ask for a minimum amount of money to be abble to get Charlie in case he needs to be replaced. What do you think ?

 

[wickedrodent]

If Charlie needs to be replaced.. I would happily donate my stuffed pig.. "Boris"

 

[Susan9608]

I have to say, I love the cops idea. I know you weren't trying to be funny, but I had this mental image of a swat team busting down TipiDancer's door, and screaming, "Where's the pig?" Holy moly - I can't stop laughing about that.

I know, I know ... too easily amused.

(sidenote: I'm also not liking the idea of minors sharing their address with total strangers over the internet. No one likes to think of a pervert lurking on a guinea pig forum, of all places, but it can and does happen. I think the powers that be on this whole thing need to get together - well, converse at least - about this issue and think about this.)

 

[wickedrodent]

Im still laughing at the swat team idea now. It just so happens I was watching law and order when I read that. lol

 

[BabyGrl]

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do.....

 

[Tulia&Susie]

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you! Haha sorry bout that, couldn't help myself.

 

[candypigpig]

Ohhhhkay boys and girls! Charlie is here! Some of us owe Tipi an apology for assuming he wasnt going to send Charlie! I was so excited when I opened my mail and Charlie was there! It was so neat to see all poast cards and clothes people sent along with Charlie. I put Charlie on the counter while I read the cards and my youngest cat Asher got Charlie and was giving him "cat hug" or what I would like to think was a hug...probably just the kitten in him loving to attack fuzzy things! Any how I got a picture! haha! How long do I have with Charlie? I'd kinda like to have him through to valentine's day but thats about 3 weeks! Let me know what the average is! And PM if you could make a revised list so I know who Charlie goes to next!

 

[JarBax]

HOORAY!!! That's great news that Charlie got there!

candy - The average time folks look after Charlie is a week - some folk longer, some folk less. I kept Charlie for 12 days - as was posting him from the UK to Canada, we didn't want him to miss out on Halloween being in caught up in transit!

I did let all on here know the plans though - which I think is an important requirement in looking after the little guy. If everyone on here is kept informed of the to-ings and fro-ings, then suspicion won't set in.

Look forward to seeing pics of Charlie's continuing adventures!

 

[daftscotslass]

To be honest I don't think anyone owes Tipi an apology. It's been well over a month so naturally people started to think the worst. After all, it's not the first time he "disappeared".

Sorry, but I think it's time for the age, postage and time-we-keep-him restrictions to set in so that we are not all left hanging for weeks like we were last time. I think a week would be ideal.

 

[fairysari]

Hopefully you can take him to do some sightseeing! It's so good to hear that he arrived. I would say about a week sounds right, but if you need an extra weekend to get out to get some good pictures I think that would be okay. So maybe try to send him by next Monday, Feb 5th? That way he should be able to make it to the next person before Valentines day.

 

[Percy's Mom]

Here is the most up to date itinerary. When you read over it, you will notice that several names have been removed. There are a few that were removed by request, and after considering everyone's comments, minors were also removed from the list. As has already been mentioned, the younger members should not be giving out personal information like their address online.

Scotland
daftscotslass

Northern Ireland
cavy-cool-crazy

Norway
Kjerstimoo


Wales
KPIGGY

England
Piglet

France
Lucy99

Finland
Laura220

Back to Scotland
JarBax

Canada
fairysari (Ontario)
Lyndsay (Ontario)
TipiDancer (Vancouver Island, Victoria, BC)

Field Trip to USA
candypigpig (VT)

Brief trip back to Canada
Coiler (Montreal, Quebec)

USA
mini'smama (ME)
CapuPebbles (NY)
strigercake (PA)
Kriket (PA)
Percy’s Mom (VA)

Jump to Australia
kathrynj
Fluffball

Back to USA
Percy's Mom (VA)
Jdomans (GA)
emoxrobot (GA)
Binas Cavys (FL)
BabyGrl (MI)
Piggymom (MI)
Cavyslavesteph (MN)
Susan9608 (TX)
Suzilovespiggie (AZ)
nismosmama (CA)
And then finally ending up with T in CA.

 

[Percy's Mom]

My apologies to anyone upset by the decision to remove minors from the itinerary, but recent events and the original loss of Charlie lead to a lot of serious reconsideration of the rules of the "Charlie Adventure."

Review of the new "Charlie" rules:
*You must be at least 18 to sign up.
*You must be an active forum member for at least 30 days before being added to the Charlie itinerary.
*You may keep Charlie for ONLY 7-10 days maximum. Keeping him longer than this is unfair to the person after you as well as the list of people waiting to take him sightseeings.
*When you get Charlie, send a private message to the next person on the list to get the address you will be sending him to.
*When you send Charlie on his way to the next person, you may choose your method of shipping, but make sure you have a tracking number.
*MOST important. Make sure you make a donation to Cavy Spirit. This is the main focus of this fun activity after all. If you use PayPal, send it to [email protected]. If you need to send a check or money order, send a private message to CavySpirit, and she will reply back with an address.

Other than that, have FUN. Take Charlie to your favorite restaurants, hangouts, shopping malls. Take him to work with you. Take him to the touristy places you might not normally visit because you're a "local". Charlie's a visitor to your home, so show him a good time! Make sure you take lots of pictures though and let us know what he is up to. Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[wickedrodent]

Would it be possible for minors to sign up if our parents made contact through email and gave permission?

I know my grandma would happily sign up so he could come and visit.. She was looking forward to having him with us just as much as I was.. She works at a school libary.. So she could give that address to have him sent to if it is a matter of not wanting him to get lost again.