Priscilla Mahar Animal Welfare Fund

I contacted PMAWF after reading an article in the Pennysaver a few months ago; they have funds set aside for animal rescues. I heard back shortly after from Wayne Mahar (NBC 3) and within the next month or so we should be hearing from someone. Even if we don't end up getting funded, we've been invited to the Canine Carnival on Saturday, August 6 to promote the rescue. Wayne did say that because we are pretty much the only guinea pig rescue, that's a good thing, and that all kinds of animals are welcome at the carnival. So, we'll see what happens!
As much as Ryan may complain about the number of guinea pigs we have here, he was volunteering at a blood drive yesterday and found someone else who wants to give one up, so pretty soon we may have another new arrival.

Statistics for 2010

Ok, so I went through the adoption log today and found that (not counting guinea pigs that were returned and adopted out again) we have adopted out 49 guinea pigs in 2010. In 7 1/2 years, we have had 156 guinea pigs pass through our doors...and guess what? We have four more coming in a few weeks. I have pics already but will post them closer to the date; two of them are adorable texel sisters that were rescued from someone on Craigslist, but the new owner has found she does not have the time or funds for her four piggies. They arrive here January 12.

Christmas Pictures

Foofer (top), hiding in her hut!

Jazz (middle), Foofer's roomie..isn't she beautiful? She came from the Fair.

Frosted (bottom) with his stocking hung up, getting a pretzel treat.

Merry Christmas!

I am going out of town from Friday to Monday (Ryan is staying to take care of the piggies), so I wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas as I will not be posting again until I get back. I will be checking e-mails regularly from my phone, though, so if anyone needs to contact me I will still be available to some extent.
Scotchie should be going to her new home in just a few hours; I will have to go through my adoption log and see how we did in 2010. I will also have some cute new pictures of a few of our piggies just doing what they do!

Winter Update

I had Snooki out tonight, and Sammi out the other night..Sammi is the more "nervous" of the two girls, and is thinner than her sister. Snooki is very calm when held. I'm giving them Oxbow Performance for babies/pregnant sows to help get their weights up.
Pauly D is also very calm when you hold him; I need to move him into a bigger cage. Someone is interested in adopting Mister, so if he goes, he will need an enclosed cage, so I will move Pauly into the CC cage where he will have more space.
I am also going to take pictures of Jazz and see if anyone wants to adopt her as a companion female..she has been living with Foofer and Gobbles and would make a great buddy for another female, especially since she is so young.

"Visitation"

I have a few guinea pigs that I've kept here as permanent residents because the previous owners requested "visitation rights." As a result, I have several guinea pigs that are perfectly adoptable, but remain here at the request of the original owners.
I've decided I can no longer do this, and I will let people know when they are surrendering their guinea pigs. Adoptable guinea pigs may be sent on to a new home if the adoption application is approved, and believe me, I don't let my animals go to just anyone. The application requires vet and personal references and asks VERY detailed questions about the new home. As always, any guinea pigs that do not get adopted remain here until their final days. And trust me, they are all spoiled rotten! :)

Good News!

Our friends at Piggy Bed Spreads are going to place a "donate" button on their site, and the donations will go straight to our PayPal account to take care of our guinea pigs!
I wanted to give everyone a breakdown of what we spend each week on the piggies, so that anyone who wants to know how the money is spent will be able to see it here. I went grocery shopping today so here is the amount we spend on produce:
Romaine lettuce...5 heads per week...9.95 (1.99 per head)
carrots, three 5 lb. bags...3 bags @ 2.99 each...8.97
one 3 lb. bag of apples...3.49 (approximately..depends on what's on sale)
3 cucumbers only if on sale, 3/1.98
We also spend about $17 every two weeks on a 50 lb. bag of Blue Seal guinea pig pellets, and about $13 every two weeks on pine bedding from our local feed store.
Obviously, the biggest initial expense with guinea pigs comes when you buy the cage and accessories, but once you have these things, the cost is relatively low to maintain the animals. The problem is, larger cages are more expensive (up to $120), and many people aren't willing to spend that kind of money, so the guinea pig(s) end up in cages that are too small. I've had many of these cages; whenever possible, I will "upgrade" guinea pigs to bigger cages and I get rid of the old ones. I have several cages set aside for emergencies, but they are all a decent size.
So, we may not be a "certified" nonprofit, but we are still and will always be nonprofit, even with our adoption fees. Any and all donations we receive will be used to get supplies for our guinea pigs...right now we have 27, with three new ones arriving soon. Details later! :)
And many thanks to Martha and Tim for getting our button set up!

Gearing Up for Christmas!

Well, other than Scotchie's pending adoption (as a Christmas gift), we have had little activity here. I was going through the closet looking for the girls' stockings, and found a very small red and green one that is now hanging on Frosted's cage. Maybe if the piggies are good they will all get treats!
I have been trying to sell a few of my spare cages and I'm still searching for a more permanent job, as mine will end at the end of December. Ryan is still out of work so things are going to start getting really tight soon. We've been trying to sell what we can and find ways to cut corners. Fortunately, most of my Christmas shopping is done; we definitely did not go crazy this year.