Sunday, February 20, 2011

Sidenote to Last Post

I know in my last post I said that we never buy from pet stores, but my friend Mary made a good point about an exception: If the pet store (or farm supply store or whatever type of store) has guinea pigs that are in bad shape, of course it would be a good idea to get them out of there if possible. I've personally never had that happen, but I know other people who rescued guinea pigs from that type of situation.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Why You Should Donate to Our Rescue

Ok, let me preface this by saying I am not trying to send anyone on a guilt trip. We have only had two donations (which were very generous, thank you) since we had our donate button installed, and while I am grateful for any donation, I was hoping for a better response. We are certainly not in dire straits, but even small donations can be used to help the guinea pigs. So here is my list of reasons why you should consider hitting that button:
1. WE SPEND OUR MONEY WISELY.
I was paying $15 for a 25 lb. bag of premium guinea pig food at our local feed store. When I went to Tractor Supply, I found a comparable food in a 50 lb. bag for around $18. Double the food, only a few bucks more, so I had to switch. The good news is, the guinea pigs still love it. While Romaine and carrots are a must-have each week, I wait until certain produce is on sale before I buy it. We're always looking for ways to save.
2. BUT WE'RE NOT CHEAP!
That being said, it does not mean that we skimp on care or food for our guinea pigs. I don't care if cedar bedding is less expensive; it's toxic. I don't care if lettuce is out of season; I buy it. If a guinea pig is hurt or sick, it goes to the vet.
3. WE SUPPORT THE LOCALS WHEN POSSIBLE.
We may have switched pellets, but we still buy our bedding from the feed store up the road. They've been hit as hard as everyone else and we'd like them to stay in business. We also like to promote local businesses that have helped us, such as Piggy Bed Spreads. By using the fleeces, we are able to cut down on our bedding expenses even further.
4. WE HAVE A STRICT NO BREEDING/BUYING POLICY.
Absolutely NONE of our guinea pigs have gotten pregnant while they were here, nor have any of them come from us buying them from pet stores. The vast majority of our guinea pigs were purchased at pet stores, the owners tired of them, and they came to us. We have had only two new litters, from sows that were pregnant before they arrived. It's like Jurassic Park: No unauthorized breeding!
5. WE SUPPORT OTHER ANIMAL RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS.
Just because we specialize in guinea pigs does not mean we don't care about other animals. Our goats, donkey, barn cats and one of our dogs were adopted, and we support organizations like Farm Sanctuary and Best Friends Animal Society. If I feel another guinea pig rescue could give someone what they need, I am happy to pass on that information. We're all in this together!
I realize we are not an "official" nonprofit. We may be private, but we are always nonprofit, which to us means not even attempting to make money from our adoptions. Adoption fees are in place to ensure that our guinea pigs go to responsible homes. Only $6 buys bedding for one week for 27 guinea pigs; $9 provides 25 lbs. of pellets.
I guess I wanted to write this to let our followers know their donations are always used wisely, whether it is financial or in the form of cages, food, bedding, etc. My purpose in life is to take care of these animals, not take advantage of anyone. So, if you've been considering it, go ahead and hit the donate button, and it will be much appreciated.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Digging Out

Well, like everyone else, we've been digging out after all the snow we got. Ryan is back to work (hooray!), which means I'll start getting my weekly "allowance" again (it goes from his check right into my account). That's good because the money I'd saved from my temporary job is almost gone!
In the meantime, I'm just cleaning cages, taking piggies out when I can, and keeping everyone warm. I suppose I could do Tractor Supply again, but right now I only have Pudge available and I don't like taking any guinea pigs out in cold weather. January got us off to a great start with adoptions (I think we had 8), but now things have really slowed down, so we're waiting for spring to arrive!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Booooooooooored

Well, not much is going on here...I've been sitting around in my pajamas looking for a job, sending resumes, playing computer games, etc. We've gotten only one donation recently. I've seen a lot of guinea pigs in the newspaper and online, but I'm still pretty much out of room. The good news is, Ryan is expected to go back to work next week (hooray!) We've been bored out of our minds here at home but he's been helping fix up a friend's house, so at least he has something to do. I'm trying to be a good housewife, doing all my cleaning and baking banana bread.
Oh, and if the person who wanted Jazz reads this, I somehow lost your e-mail address so please contact me! :)