PA-Wheek Care Guinea Pig Rescue

It is only because of the sheer amount of homeless guinea pigs out there that I have not yet featured this rescue. They're awesome and very important to animal care, safety, and homing. They save hundreds of guinea pigs each year. They are the Wheek Care Guinea Pig Rescue! A home based rescue near Pittsburgh. Go Steelers! Go guinea pigs!

ADOPTED! Hangin' with Mr. Cooper's photo is definitely an "after" shot. When Cooper was brought to the rescue he was suffering from mites so badly that he barely had any fur. He was also suffering from scurvy. But the rescue took care of that, with treatment and a good diet. Now he has a gorgeous black and white roan coat. He is a very personable and inquisitive guinea pig looking for a forever home. He can be adopted as a mate for another single boar, or be neutered and then paired with a girl piggie.

An Aside About Mites: Read all about them here. Not enough guinea pig owners know how common mites are and how easily treated they can be. But if you leave them untreated, they can be deadly. Pet store guinea pigs almost invariably have them. It is not necessary for a veterinarian to do a scraping to diagnose mites. This is an expensive, painful, and often inaccurate procedure. It is safe to treat for mites in adults solely on the chance they exist, with Ivermectin. Read the mites page to learn the symptoms in full, but some of them include scratching, thinning or balding fur, irritability, and biting. Note: I did not write these links, I only learn from them.

ADOPTED! Reese is a poor boy who is paired with Twitch. Reese needs a loving home, because it is suspected he was abused in a previous "home." He can be very shy and afraid...how lucky for Reese that Wheek Care exists. He's a bit more afraid of men, but the rescue doesn't know why that is. My guinea pig Sophie is the same way, though she's coming around. Reese's foster family is teaching him how to love humans, and Twitch is helping him learn how to be a happy pig. Adopting these two would be a very special act.


ADOPTED! Twitch is just a baby--only ten weeks old! He has soft red, white, and golden fur. He and Reese are best friends. It's wonderful that they were able to find each other in their foster home.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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NJ-Craigslist-boars

* If responding to a Craigslist ad meet in a public place, or go with a friend. Google the phone number of the poster to ensure it matches the name he or she gives *

LISTING REMOVED. Keansburg, NJ: two boars being rehomed because kids lost interest. Small adoption fee includes the boars' cages; they can be housed and adopted separately or together. One is orange black and white, one is black and white. They are both short-haired. Have never bitten any of the kids. I wish they'd bite the poster.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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NJ-North Jersey Guinea Pig and Hamster Rescue

Due to increased time commitments, I am no longer going to be able to update past entries of some of the larger rescues such as Have-A-Heart and NJGPHR. Once a week or so I will update the herd of the respective rescues.

North Jersey Guinea Pig and Hamster Recue has two 1/2 new piggies for adoption. ADOPTED! Ziegfield and ADOPTED! Ignatius G. Pig are genuine new pigs, and Max used to be half of a bonded pair. His lucky other half, DJ, was adopted by a very loving and knowledgeable guinea pig home. Now Max is looking for the same luck to swing his way.

Since these three don't have pictures up yet, I'm going to feature three others instead.

ADOPTED! Avery's photo is so great to me. He reminds me of when you get a photo of a raccoon at night, and they're frozen right in front of the trash can like "what? No good?" He is a sweet three month old boy, and he's a peruvian/abby mix. So cute! He has beautiful ruby colored eyes. He wants to be adopted with Ushi. Since his hair might grow longer as he gets older (cross your fingers), he may require daily brushing.




ADOPTED! Logan is another caterpillar metamorphosed in to a guinea pig. He's six months old and already a large boy. He was given up with Avery and some of the other pigs in the rescue. He would work well with a lonely male pig or as a single pet. Guineas who work as single pets are hard to find!




Aragorn is a handsome large crested cavy! He is between one and two years old. He would work well being adopted with one of his friends in the rescue, or with a baby boar you've already given a home. Aragorn was given up because his family didn't want him anymore. How??


ADOPTED! Ziegfield (Ziggy) & ADOPTED! Ignatius G. Pig & Max & Tina & ADOPTED! Becky & ADOPTED! Mina & ADOPTED! Avery & Ushi & Robby & ADOPTED! Logan and Xavier & Nicky II & ADOPTED! Spanky & Fernando & Gandolf & Aragorn & ADOPTED! Lucinda & ADOPTED! Miranda & ADOPTED! Sophia & ADOPTED! Versace & ADOPTED! Giorgio & ADOPTED! Gucci & ADOPTED! Daisy & ADOPTED! Vanessa & ADOPTED! Baby & ADOPTED! Rocky and Henry & .

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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NY-Craigslist-young boar

* If responding to a Craigslist ad meet in a public place, or go with a friend. Google the phone number of the poster to ensure it matches the name he or she gives *

POST DELETED. Cute gray guinea pig being dumped for fr33 in Hudson Valley. He's nine months old. As opposed to further describing the guinea pig, the poster describes everything he comes with! Great marketing strategy. I bet the people who respond to this ad don't care much about the guinea pig anyway. This cute boy comes with: a large cage (better), a water bottle, food dish, little tray, two bags of treats (research to see if they're safe; I'll bet you a sawbuck they're not), 1/2 bag of hay (better), 1/2 healthy wood blocks (if these are from a fruit tree, chuck them. I think BarkBites are okay, but other people don't), 1/2 bag food (better), 3 bags of wood chips for the bottom of the cage (never use this, read here).

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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NJ-Craistlist-Two Listings

* If responding to a Craigslist ad meet in a public place, or go with a friend. Google the phone number of the poster to ensure it matches the name he or she gives *

POST DELETED. West Milford, North Jersey, New Jersey: This listing has been reposted. If anyone can do a little research and tell me whether this is a br33der, I'd appreciate it. It might just be the same guinea pigs not receiving good replies though. Two bonded boars must go together, two more pups sex not specified. Sounds like they have a C&C cage. Good for them! There are better ways to deal with those magically pregnant boars the petstores seems to specialize in, though. Like not buy them and adopt from a rescue or shelter that can assure the sex of your pig? Yeah, that's one.

*Don't br33d or buy while shelter animals die *

LISTING REMOVED. Jersey City, New Jersey: This is another reposting. Sow is 14 months old, very affectionate, and beautiful--she has gray/gold long hair. The boar is 12 months old, short red and white hair. They've been together for 8 months (do a pregnancy check) and so can't be separated. They come with a cage and pine bedding. Throw away both (maybe the pine will be okay) and read up on safe cages and bedding.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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NY-Lollypop Farm in Fairport

New members of the Lollypop Guild, some with cute faces pictured, some whose cute faces you have to imagine.

LISTING REMOVED. Ohhhh, is Patrick a cutie. I wish I lived in New York. Or that I lived on the Lollypop Farm. If I were a kid I'd really want to live there. Candy and kittens, woah-hoh! Back to guinea pigs. Patrick is adorable and three years old. His listing says he's brown, which he's not, so always take listings with a grain of salt. Too few volunteers for too many animals means it's always best to verify things on your own. And not blame me if I accidentally lie to you! Okay, once again, Patrick.



LISTING REMOVED. Echo is a beautiful counterpart to Patrick (they're not bonded though). She is one year and one month old, and would be the star of any guinea debutante ball.



I can't wait to see what cuties LISTING REMOVED. Twinkers (a young medium sized male) and LISTING REMOVED. Patches (a young medium sized male) turn out to be. Knowing Lollypop Farm they'll be some amazing himi/dal combo. With a crest. And a rooster tail.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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NY-two GPAN posts

These may be people who reposted from Craigslist ads after being advised about the dangers of rehoming their guinea pigs through that service.

Staten Island, New York: A sweet, healthy, one year old girl named Cheddar is in need of a new home. She is brown and white and ready for you to love her.

New York City, New York: A bonded pair of sisters, Chocolate and Caramel, need a new home. They are a year and a half old and spayed. They come with cage and accessories.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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NJ-Somerset Regional Animal Shelter

The good people at Somerset Regional Animal shelter, which I previously posted about here, have two more guinea pigs available for adoption.

ADOPTED! Cookie has a cute photo. Admittedly, it must be easier to get good photos of piggies as pretty as Cookie. She's a young girl hoping to be adopted with Brownie. She's spayed, so if you have a boar looking for two ladies, Cookie and Brownie could be the girls for him!






ADOPTED! Brownie is a beauty, and in her other photo you can see what a mighty dewlap she has. She's another small young girlie looking for a forever home.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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NY-Craigslist Ad

* If responding to a Craigslist ad meet in a public place, or
go with a friend. Google the phone number of the poster
to ensure it matches the name he or she gives *

LISTING REMOVED. Craigslist Repost for Greece, NY. See the original in this post, third down. I can't go through making fun of this post and pointing out all the Goofuses again. Here's the picture, the guinea pig's a winner and that's all that matters.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

369

NY-Craigslist-two young sows

* If responding to a Craigslist ad meet in a public place, or go with a friend. Google the phone number of the poster to ensure it matches the name he or she gives *

LISTING EXPIRED. West Village, New York

"My children really want a cat and since we are not a multi species household we need to find a loving home for our two 18 month old female guinea pigs.
They come with their own large, fr33 standing cage and all food/supplies.
No fee."

No words.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

369

PA-Lehigh County Humane Society-bonded sows

Lehigh County Humane Society is a non-profit shelter that takes in over 6,000 animals. They have two important requests on their homepage:

"HELP: We are in desperate need of a 35mm point and shoot camera to aid us in cruelty investigations. Please, this will may make the difference in saving a county animal from abuse! If you would like to donate, please see shelter manager.

We are in need of computers. If you have a computer you wish to donate, please speak with the shelter Manager. Thank you."

ADOPTED! They also have an adorable bonded pair named Linney and Peaches. They are two young abby sows--just five months old. Their bio provides lots of information about how to care for guinea pigs, and they're housed on Carefresh at the shelter. That's a very good sign that they're being well cared for, which might mean fewer surprises when you bring them home. This is not to knock other shelters, of course. Keeping a guinea pig for two weeks on newspaper before they get adopted is keeping them alive. (As an aside, it's a fine line between temporarily compromising a guinea pig's care to keep them alive and get them a home, and endangering their health). On to the pictures!

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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PA-Dessin Animal Shelter-three pigs

Dessin Animal Shelter, in Honesdale, PA, is a neat one. It was founded by a mother daughter team in 1968, and saves up to 2,000 animals a year. Help them save three more by adopting their adorable guinea pigs! They all came in together, so I imagine they're bonded. It doesn't specify, however, that you have to adopt all three girls together.

LISTING REMOVED. PBF (stands for Peanut Butter Fluff) is a real beauty. She is a small adult female.



LISTING REMOVED. Marshmellow [sic], is a cute young sow. Her listing says that all three pigs are really nice.



LISTING REMOVED. Mushroom is another small young girl. She is a year old. Maybe she's more down to earth than the others?

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

365

NY-Craigslist-three guinea pigs

* If responding to a Craigslist ad meet in a public place, or
go with a friend. Google the phone number of the poster
to ensure it matches the name he or she gives *

LISTING EXPIRED. Well, I don't quite get this (Clifton Springs) Rochester, NY Craigslist ad for three guinea pigs. It seems like a Haiku with too make syllables/lines.

"Gentle Friends

Guinea Pigs are a toddler or lonely childs best friend.
Three loving gentle friends for adoption.
No supplies or cage availible
Just a wonderful new family member"

Okay...well, there are a couple of fallacies in this posting. Guinea pigs are the the best friend for lonely guinea pigs. They are very delicate animals that can not be handled roughly or incorrectly. Toddlers should only be allowed to play with guinea pigs under close supervision. They are not a way to teach your children about responsibility, or animals. Get them a book or educational made for TV movie.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

362

NJ-Helping the Homeless Animal Rescue

First off, Helping the Homeless Animal Rescue cheats in its adoption photos. They put pictures of cute kids holding the cute animals! They're totally going to have a monopoly on the ticking biological clock crowd. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

That's LISTING REMOVED Freckles, if you're interested. But seriously, how can the other farm animal rescues compete? HHAR is a foster based network. They do have a phone number on the Petfinder pages, but request no calls after 7 PM, and for long distance potential-adopters to send emails instead.

They also have a guinea pig available for adoption. Her name is LISTING REMOVED. Kisses and she is a young sow, under six months old. She has long hair and is rust and white in color. On her profile, the author apologizes for their broken camera, so I'm not sure if the picture they provide is of LISTING REMOVED. Kisses or not. I'm posting it just in case, and because it also illustrates a common guinea pig no-no.

The boy pictured in the back is not holding the guinea pig correctly. Guinea pigs are very fragile animal, and by holding them just by their upper arms you put too much strain on their upper body. Here's another great Guinea Lynx page that can show you how to hold your dear piggy.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

359

NJ-Rabbit Haven by the Sea

I am crazy about everything about this rescue. First off, Rabbit Haven by the Sea is such a poetic and esoteric name, secondly, they have amazing photographs of their beautiful animals. They're in need of foster homes--you should do it! I bet this rescue is run by cool people, if the name is any indication.

ADOPTED! Jupiter and Jasper are two bonded brothers. They've been together since birth, and they are now 3 1/2 years old. Jupiter and Jasper are healthy and vocal. If you adopt them you not only receive two wonderful creatures that will make you thank the heavens, but you also receive their cage, two hidey houses, their water bottle (get another one so they each have one), their carrier, food, bedding, and two books on guinea pigs. Wow! That's ridiculous. If you educate yourself on guinea pigs first, these two could make great first guineas. After all, they come with a starter pack!

A note on the food. They're currently eating Fiesta Mix, which is a no no. It's one of those junk food pellets. If you adopt them it might take a short bit to get them to transition to a quality pellet, like Oxbow or Kleenmama's.

helpful links: Quality Hay and Pellets in bulk & Pampering your Pig & Cheaper, Larger Cages & Bedding & Essential Guinea Supplies & Proper Diet & Cavy Savvy Vets & "What's Normal? What's Not?" & "What is Rescuing and Adopting?"

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