I'm Back

Hi everyone..I just got back an hour or so ago. I'm trying to catch up on guinea pig correspondence, as I have several pick ups tomorrow and Monday. It's harder to do from my phone because I'm not the greatest texter! :)
All my piggies greeted me when I got in the door, which was nice..I do miss them when I'm gone. My husband kept giving Indigo her probiotics and a wound wash; she seems to be getting better. I have some cages to clean out tonight..no rest for a guinea pig mom!
I will update everyone on the upcoming adoptions as they happen over the next few days.

Latest news, then I'm taking a break

Nova had his staples taken out yesterday, and did a great job..hard to believe there were SEVEN staples in such a tiny guinea pig! His wound is healing very well and he should have all of his hair back soon. He is being adopted tonight..hooray!
Indigo, on the other hand, has been very difficult to handle. I'm giving her medication three times a day and trying to put stuff on her wounds, but she screams everytime I hold her and anytime she has to scratch herself. The biggest wounds do look like they're healing, but it's only been a few days. She also acts very traumatized, so I can only imagine what happened to her where she was.
I will be keeping up with e-mails while I'm in New Jersey, but will give the blog a rest until I get home. In the meantime, my wonderful husband Ryan will be in charge of all my furbabies (and also in charge of groceries this week, which kind of scares me!).
I'm already exhausted and I haven't even left yet..going to be a long three days.

Update on Everything

Ok, I am leaving Wednesday and coming back Friday. Some adoptions may be happening earlier, some later..it doesn't matter, really. I know the folks who want babies have been waiting very patiently; the pups are all eating solid food and pellets and would be ok leaving mom a few days early. Poppy is going to her new home March 1; Nova could be leaving as early as tomorrow evening or Tuesday. Aside from Indigo, everyone is doing well, although I do see that Indigo's wounds are already starting to heal. She screams everytime she has to scratch herself, and hates when I pick her up, but I've already dealt with this when I had Buttercup, so it will just be a matter of time until Indy feels better and can be handled more often. I told my husband it just breaks my heart seeing Indigo like this because I thought she was so beautiful when I got her...she looks almost identical to Poppy except for some orange accents on her face.
I will have my Blackberry with me on the trip, so I will do my best to answer my e-mails from NJ while I'm gone. I know everyone's going to tell me not to worry about it, but my grandmother died exactly the way she wanted to, and life doesn't stop just because she's gone. She was an animal lover, and thought I was crazy for having so many guinea pigs, but I know she would understand. My rescue and my blog are very important to me, and most of the people I've met along the way have been truly wonderful...I am not going to let anyone down. :)

New Development

I realize that I've been gearing up for the coming adoptions of Poppy and her pups, but my grandmother passed away during the night; no arrangements have been made yet, but I may be traveling to New Jersey sometime this week (possibly Indiana..everything is up in the air right now). I just e-mailed a couple adopters to let them know what's going on, and I will do my best to keep the blog updated as well.
My grandmother, Wanda Granack, was an avid animal lover, opening her home to several cats over the years and donating money to shelters and rescues. I was lucky enough to travel the world with her and my grandfather when I was a teenager; on those trips, I learned lessons about other people and cultures that still stick with me today. She was a wonderful woman who will be greatly missed.

Just when you think you've seen it all...

This is Indigo, who was adopted last summer with another female. The owner showed up at my house today (no phone call, nothing..I don't know what they would have done if we hadn't been home) and informed me that they were "having trouble" with her and that the other female had been attacking her. Indigo has open sores ALL OVER her body; I asked why she hadn't been taken to a vet and the girl said, "I don't live with my mom, I'm not really sure." (The mom sat in the car the whole time.)
Nova is now off his medications, so I am giving them to Indigo in the hope she will heal soon. I am angry BEYOND belief right now, and I have decided that I am going to have to write up a fill-in-the-blanks adoption form that will require potential adopters to provide detailed information as to why they want to adopt, what vet and personal references they have, etc. Returning a guinea pig to a rescue because it has health issues and you can't afford to take it to a vet is just unacceptable! These people never even called to ask me any questions when the "problem" began; they just showed up here with Indigo in a box. There are SO many things I wish I would have said, but my biggest concern is always for the welfare of the guinea pig; I couldn't just turn her away in her condition, so we will do whatever it takes to get Indigo well.

Update on the Babies

I was telling my coworkers today that my last female baby, Isis, was not yet spoken for...by the time I got home and checked my e-mail, I found someone who may be interested in her as a companion for her other female. This means I now have homes lined up for Poppy and all five babies...hooray!
It's going to be very strange not having my little family here at the end of next week. I am going to move the "pirhana" (my five older females) into the cage once it's empty, as they will have more room than they have now. I'm hoping to move several of my remaining piggies into larger cages. Right now the only ones I have available for adoption are Duff and Pinot. Foxy and Roxy can still be adopted, as long as they go together, but they are probably around 2 years old at this point.

More Baby Pics

Again, these little guys are fast, but I'm trying to get some good pictures of them. All the babies are getting BIG, compared to what they looked like last week. I'm still having trouble sexing them; I could have sworn Nova was a girl, but turns out he's not, lol! I sweep out the fleece twice a day with a whisk broom, and tomorrow I need to take everything out and wash it again, along with some other fleeces.