Where would you adopt from?

[Skyenoir]

If you had the choice, would you adopt a guinea pig from an animal shelter to save it from being euthanized, or would you adopt from a rescue in order to support the rescue effort? There are pros and cons to both. What do you think it the better option? I could adopt one from each I suppose.... There are several male guinea pigs at the San Franciso shelter and they are all neutered before coming home. That is of interest to me since I have females. I thought it might be nice to have one male and 2 or 3 females.

 

[cavy-cool-crazy]

First choice would be shelter, I think. Although it is very difficult. The reason I say shelter is because rescues don't euthanise cavies which are difficult to find homes for.

 

[LuvMyPiggers]

I would say shelter because at least they take the animals in for people. Plus you would be saving it from death.

 

[Skyenoir]

I am wondering if the shelter may not euthanize, though, since they put the money out there to have the males pigs neutered. I wouldn't think they would do that if they were going to kill them. It doesn't say on their site and they don't open until noon. I have an appointment to meet someone at Cavy Spirit next weekend to see some females. Maybe I should just go and "look" at the males at the shelter....yeah right, just LOOK...I know darned well looking would turn into taking! I guess getting one from each place would be helping out both of them.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

It's a hard choice. While on the one hand you have some shelters that do euthanize but some don't. If the pig was going to be euthanized at the shelter, that option would be saving a pigs life. On the other hand, rescues are usually always getting calls for owner surrenders but may not be able to take the pigs due to lack of space, so adopting from a rescue would open more space for more pigs to come into.

I believe that the last week or two Teresa has been getting overloaded with calls for surrenders.

 

[twofinepigs]

If I were going to adopt a pig, I would think very hard about what I needed and probably write it down before I looked. For example, if I needed a buddy for Hoover, an intact dominant male, it would have to be a mellow male, and I think I have read that a younger boar would be easier to introduce to an adult. I know I can't support a pig who needs constant medical attention, because of finances; I work so I can't be home to attend and care for a sickly pig who needs to be watched all the time.

Then I'd check shelters and rescues until they got a pig I thought I could take good care of. I wouldn't go until that happened.

If I decided where to adopt in advance and went and looked, I might come home with a pig or pigs that I'm not the best home for (that's a grammatical mess, but you know what I mean.) It would be very hard to look and leave with animals who really need to find homes.

So where I adopted would depend on who had the pig that would be a good fit for my circumstances. I know the shelters and rescues help with this, but I'd want to be really sure that I stuck to my list and didn't talk myself and the shelter into something I couldn't do well.

I very nearly came home with a cat last year because it was abandoned and old and sick and the friend who found it was taking it to the shelter. I cried a lot over that. But if I had taken it, we would have been living without power because I couldn't fix the car AND pay the power bill AND pay a lot of vet bills for the poor sick kitty. I had to let it go. Practical but painful.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

The rescue knows their foster pigs better generally, their health and temperament. The shelter may not know this. Some shelters do not treat for illnesses.

If you adopt from a shelter directly, you are saving that pig's life and giving them a nice home. If you adopt from a rescue, you are saving that pig's life and freeing up a foster spot so they can take another in.

 

[Tatalp]

I'd go with a comprimise. I'd adopt a pig from my local rescue that had taken the pig from a shlter. That way I would know plenty about temperment and health. The local rescue also always spays/neuters, so since my boar isn't neutered, it would be convenient to get a spayed female.
I actually did this, that's how I got my lovely Hannah.

 

[Plummie]

For some of us, our only option is to adopt from a shelter. There are no guinea pig rescues at all (that I'm aware of) in central Kentucky. So unfortunately most pigs get dumped at the Humane Society or Woodstock Animal Foundation and I believe both of these organizations do euthanize after a certain amount of time. I have pigs from both and every time I go back there are more. If I had the resources and time, I would start up a rescue for them!

 

[Skyenoir]

I called the shelter and they said they don't euthanize unless there is a behavior issue or the animal is ill. The respresentative was very rude there. I asked if they were a kill or no-kill shelter, and he says to me "THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NO-KILL SHELTER!" Eek!

So, the reason I was thinking about going there, as well as meeting someone from Cavy Spirit, is because the shelter neuters for free. I was wanting a male to go with my females. While I was willing to take on the cost of neutering, it would be nice to be able to save the money to spoil the pigs with instead! Cavy Spirit has females for us to meet, so we could also adopt a female from them. When I asked Leah at CS about neutering a male, she didn't seem too open to it, probably because of the risks involved or because there is no guarantee that I would actually neuter and my girls could end up pregnant, so I understand that. And the males they have there right now hat I was interested in were a no-go because one was adopted, one has a jealous girlfriend and couldn't be with my girls anyhow, and one is too old. SO maybe she was open to it but she didn't feel she had any males right now to fit my situation.

So someone said I should assess what I can do for a piggie and what I would want and then go look. Well, I want a male that is social and sweet, of course. Herbie is social, while Killer is not, she spends all of her time hiding and chuttering out of irritation/fear. While I am trying to get her out of that of course, I haven't had much luck so far. Maybe another GP that she likes more than Herbie can help bring out her social side a bit....

Any of you that have one male and several females, does it seem to be a nice thing to have? I thought a male would enjoy a little harem... Oh, and sorry for the long post, and thanks if you actually read this far!

 

[toffeepig]

I called the shelter and they said they don't euthanize unless there is a behavior issue or the animal is ill. The respresentative was very rude there. I asked if they were a kill or no-kill shelter, and he says to me "THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NO-KILL SHELTER!" Eek!

Well, I can kinda follow his logic - even a no-kill shelter will euthanize if an animal's suffering is too great - but only as a last-resort, not for the convenience of the shelter's population.

Skye that's GREAT that you found a shelter that will neuter for free, but are you sure this policy includes cavies? (or did I miss the post about the shelter being for cavies specifically?) I wish my boys were altered, it would make getting another pigger in the future simpler. I'm saving up to have them neutered eventually but they're "so happy together" right now.

 

[Skyenoir]

Yes, it does include cavies. It says so on their site, and I asked when I called to see if they are already altered or if they get altered after adoption. He said they do so after adoption, so the cavy has to stay there a few more days. He also said if they cavy is too young to be altered, you have to make an appointment to return to have them neutered. I was very surprised their policy included guinea pigs myself!

 

[Slap Maxwell]

Just make sure that the male stays away from your females for at least two weeks afterword. Glad you found a place.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

I have a neutered male with 3 girlfriends. He isn't very humpy, but I think he is happy.

There is no such thing as a no kill shelter truly. There is low kill and high kill.

No kill shelters have the advantage of picking or choosing which animals they will accept i.e. probably the healthy, young and adoptable. They turn away those older animals, the sick ones, the behavioral problem ones.

Even if they do accept all animals, they do temperament tests on them, and very few pass, partly due to the way the tests are designed and the environment. Then they can put them down and say they are no kill for "adoptable animals" but what they and we consider adoptable are different.

No shelter can keep an animal forever. There is not enough kennel space or funds. It isn't a sanctuary like a rescue is. They need to keep space for the next animals.

 

[AmiableAnimals]

The shelter I worked at called itself "Limited Admit" as opposed to "No Kill". This meant that we kept animals as long as it took for them to be adopted, as long as they met the definition of adoptable (healthy or treatable illness, no aggression). However, we turned down dozens of animals each day because we did not have space, and most of those animals went out the door with a map to animal control, where they were dumped and many I am sure were euthanized. So . . . make of that what you will.

It is VERY important to remember that the SHELTER is not the problem. It is the irresponsibly people who cause the animal overpopulation problem. Is it better to humanely euthanize the "excess" animals, or to allow them to suffer as strays or in overcrowded places? It really isn't a black and white issue.

Ok, as to your question, I do think it is better to adopt from a rescue if you already have pigs in the home, because you are getting a pig that is already through quarantine, has been treated for mites/lice, and you know the temperament of the animal. And, remember, everytime a pig is adopted from a rescue, a pig from the shelter generally takes that spot, so even though you went through the rescue, you still saved a shelter pig.