Sanctuary Pigs
A lot of pigs come in to my rescue in terrible condition, abused, neglected, seriously ill with scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) or pneumonia, covered in parasites, or have terrible diarrhea. Some of them are so thin you can see every single bone in their little bodies. Some of the poor little darlings do not make it despite all of the nursing and medicine and love I give them and others make a full recovery and become available for adoption. There are some though who have lingering health problems or behavioral issues from their "previous life" that do not make them adoptable so they stay here as "sanctuary pigs."
The sanctuary pigs each have their own story and reason why they need to stay here with me and over time that population changes as I lose some of them to the "rainbow bridge." Right now the sanctuary population totals at TEN: Kiki and Bianca, Dexter and Zeus, Diego, and also Tabby (who is the oldest and is 9 years old) and Rosie, Tonka, and Buffy and Missfit. These guys play an important role in my rescue.
5/9/08: Rosie and Tabby went to the Rainbow Bridge together today with some assistance unfortunately. Tabby, over 9 years old bless her heart, came down with sudden symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure and her belly swelled up like a balloon and she was having trouble breathing. Rosie was 7 years old and had chronic heart disease but she was very bonded to Tabby and had pretty much stopped eating herself and just laid right by her side. So today, I lost both my old girls and am down to eight sanctuary pigs... I didn't think my old ones would start to leave me so soon.
6/19/08: Tonka went to the Bridge today. He had a giant sarcoma on his face which could not be removed and it was encroaching on his eye and so I had to have him put to sleep. He was only 4 years old.
What I have decided...
Recently I have decided for a number of reasons that I am closing my rescue. As you have just read, I have a lot of Sanctuary piggies who are elderly and most of them have a multitude of health issues and more than half will likely not see the end of the year. Compound that with the sick and dying piggies I get and frankly I am heartsore.
Earlier this year, I lost my beloved Fernando suddenly. He was well and then I took him out of his cage to clean it and he looked a little punky and he had some squishy poo on his bottom so I took him to the sink to clean him up. He got a little excited then had a heart attack in my arms and died. Just like that... Gone, forever... Maybe we should not have favorites, but that pig was mine as is his cagemate. There was a special bond that I had with him, that I have with Diego and when I lost him my heart was so utterly broken. I love ALL of my piggies and care about them even long after they have been adopted and when I hear they have passed grieve their passing but nothing compares to losing Fernando.
When I first got Fernando, I knew the day I got him he was something special and he stayed with me witout ever going up for adoption. He hung out of his cage door for kisses and he rubbed his nose on my face and always knew when I needed a pick-me up. Then I got Diego his cagemate from Animal Control and I got that same instant feeling and thought, I hope Fernando likes him! Sure enough they were great buddies and the two pigs of my heart were bonded and life was good! They even looked similar! Red pigs with some white... Gorgeous boys. Diego hangs his head out to see me too. I have never had a connection with a pig like I have had with these two boys. Then Fernando was gone in an instant without even an inkling of him being ill. My precious boy...
Shortly thereafter I got a foster pig in who I named Paco. Some pretty hefty arrangements were made to bring him to me and from all communications made by the owner surrendering him I thought he was in good health, just that he was grieving the loss of his buddy. I thought this would work out well since Diego was also grieving for Fernando. Paco did not live even two weeks after he came to me. I stayed up nights with him. He had been fed hamster food and his bowels were not working properly. He was 600 grams underweight and so scurvy he couldn't bend his back leg. He had an eye injury that was so severe he was blind in that eye but had also probably caused him inner ear damage as well because he could not walk straight. He had to set his nose on the ground to center himself before he could gain enough balance. I did everything I could to save him and win a buddy for Diego and STILL HE DIED!
I cannot save them all and I know that but in order to mend my heart I have to step away from rescue and the turmoil for awhile. Anyone who has ever been in rescue knows what I am going through I am sure, but those who have not and who think I may be a little crazy might think about spending a day volunteering with a rescue or Animal Control and talking to them. If you are trying to surrender an animal, think about your actions as to why you are doing what you are doing, and know before you EVER bring an animal into your life again that they are NOT DISPOSABLE. You don't throw them away like an old toy when your kids get tired of them, you teach your kids something about taking on responsibility for their actions.
Although I am technically not taking in any more animals and my rescue is closing, I am unsure as to how long of a break I need, this DOES NOT APPLY to any animal to which I have adopted out. If for any reason an animal I have adopted out needs to be returned, I WILL ACCEPT IT BACK, as per our contract.
I am always available for questions and concerns!
No matter that I am not actively rescuing and am technically "closed" after I adopt out my current population, I am always and WILL ALWAYS be available to anyone who wants to talk Guinea Pigs. If you have questions, concerns, problems, need help finding a vet, or ANYTHING, please call or email and I would love to help. I just will not accept any animals so please do not ask, unless of course you are an adopter as previously stated. I have not made this decision lightly and the thought of all those pigs out there that will need me haunts me but I have to take care of me first otherwise who is going to take care of them later?
How you can help
If you cannot adopt a small and furry friend but would like to help anyway, donations can be sent to the address below or you can donate securely through paypal, mastercard, or visa. $5 purchases a bag of bedding, $20 buys 50lbs of food which lasts 3-4 weeks, and $50 will purchase hay, or antibiotics and an X-ray for a sick piggy. So every donation counts and is appreciated more than I can express in words!
A lot of things need to happen to make a rescue function and funding is one of them. In order for us to continue to save these guys from being let go in the woods and being easy dinner for a hawk or just dumped alive into a dumpster to be hauled away as unwanted trash, we need to ask those people who love these guys as much as we do to contribute if they can. Thank you for supporting our cause!
Freelanthropy.com is a great site which I have signed up with and below are some links in which you can help raise money for my rescue just by surfing the internet doing your normal daily business. You can download a toolbar use the search box listed below each of which are coded for my rescue so that every search you make donates money for the guinea pigs! Please check this out and help out these cute little guys! We appreciate it...
You can download the toolbar for ease of access. Follow this link.:
http://www.freelanthropy.com/download/wsgpr_tb.exe
Or you can use this search box!
Or, another option available to you is iGive.com. iGive is a great website that has hundreds of online stores. Each store in the "iGive Mall" participates and will donate a percentage of your purchase to my rescue! This is fantastic especially if you do a lot of online shopping! You can donate money and help the piggies without spending anything extra out of pocket. There are always a lot of promotions going on as well such as sales and free shipping!
With this website, you can download the shopping tool which detects when you are on participating websites and tells you how much the website contributes to the rescue and what promotions are running for that site. OR, you can go directly to the iGive.com "Mall" and shop directly from there and see what specials are happening on any particular day. Both of these sites are fantastic and I appreciate you taking the time to look into them!
Here is the link...
Adopting guinea pigs
Guinea pigs are very social creatures and it is best for them to be kept in pairs. There are those occasional pigs that just like to be "loners" and that trait will be listed in their profile.
If you are getting a buddy for a piggy you already have, I usually request for you to bring your little fuzzy friend to meet the pig you are interested in for a meet-and-greet so we both know they will get along. Some pigs' personalities clash, just like people and I can help determine if the match is going to be a good one.
Animals are a LIFETIME commitment! A guinea pig's average lifespan is 5-8 years and some live to be older than that. My Nigel was 9 years old when he passed away. So please think about that as you are looking to adopt.
The adoption fees are $20 for a single guinea pig and $30 for a same-sex pair. I also often have more pigs than appear to be available on the website so if you are looking and don't seem to find what you are looking for, please send me an email and I might be able to help you.
I remain available to my adopters at all times for questions or problems. There are no silly questions and I want both adopter and piggy to be happy and healthy together! I am also available to anyone who has questions about guinea pigs and encourage people to ask. I want what is best for all guinea pigs!
PHONE NUMBER HAS BEEN CHANGED! Please take note of the new phone number and I am going to start sending out emails but that will take some time due to the large number of adopters I have had in the past. I want to remain available to everyone in case of questions/prolems/updates. I apologize, this has been an extremely frustrating time and if it was up to me, I would have left the number the same, but well... anyway. Thanks for your patience.
Wheeks and Squeaks Guinea Pig Rescue
5516 Susan Ave
Kalamazoo, MI 49048
Phone: (269)344-7378
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