What's actually involved in starting/running a rescue?

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Wed Jun 11, 2003 3:09 pm


Congratulations upon deciding to get started. Just be sure you pay attention to your resources, money, and time and don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it!!

Good luck!

grayrose

Post   » Fri Jun 13, 2003 3:53 pm


Late Tuesday night Lisa, the vet tech who posted about Pittsburgh GP rescue going under on CG, called me back. She’d gone over to discuss the transfer, but what she found outraged her. She demanded all the pigs right then. They’d been in one small cage all day on Sunday, 3 boys, 3 girls. Everyone had bite wounds, 4 serious, and 1 very severe.

Wed. morning I called my vet to warn her, threw my boys in car and off we went. 3 1/2 hours later we pulled up to a vet’s office in Pittsburgh.

When I saw them I didn’t know whether to cry, or throw-up. Lisa, bless her, had cleaned them up and adminstered an initial dose of Baytril. We loaded them up, and sped home. I dropped my boys at a neighbor’s, then raced to my vet.

When I finally pulled into my garage, I had six sick but safe piggies and a bag full of pharmaceuticals. My husband made dinner while I transferred the GPs into the temporary quarters set up for them the night before.

My neighbor, Holly, and her husband came down after dinner to check the new arrivals. We agreed that none of the children should see these guys for a while.

We got our boys into bed. Then I collapsed next to the best husband in the world and watched a movie.

Yesterday, I got to work setting up new C&C quarantine cages. All the pigs had a gentle, but thorough bath followed by nail trimming, wound cleaning and meds. The dining room table is now a guinea pig intensive cars unit.

Here’s their status as per my vet:
All have fresh bite wounds. All have lice. The teddy male and the younger himi female also have severe mites. In addition the teddy shows signs of scurvy. He’s covered with scabs and has very little hair on his back and sides. The PEW male has serious wounds all over his mouth that concerned her, as well. The himi females have both lost hair on their flanks, especially the younger one. You can see her flesh through the fur remaining.

My own examination showed that they all had heavily poop encrusted toes. The white animals had yellow stains on their tummies. The claws had been clipped at some point, but not recently. The aby female has several large calluses and the soles of her feet are raw and peeling. The teddy male is a mess: in addition to everything else, he has a ripped ear. It looks recent but not immediately so. The other two males picked on him relentlessly. They’re all separated now. He also has diarrhea.

They are not emaciated. Weights range from 37 to 21 ounces. But they all feel bony. They are also skittish, especially the teddy and the younger himi female.

My son and husband have given them all new names to go with their new lives. The aby female is now Bessie. The himi girls are now Keiko (the senior) and Yogi (the junior). The teddy is Brillo. The PEW boar is Chicklet, and the agouti male with the crest is Sugar Ray.

While I set up the cages and chased after my boys, I worked the phone. Starting Monday I have 5 second and third graders coming to be the official guinea pigs snugglers. They’ll come everyday to snuggle all my other pigs, while I concentrated on the Pittsburgh crew. I also have 2 seventh grade girls who’ll help with cage cleaning, grooming, and meds. Two families are lined up to foster weanlings if we have any pregnancies. Another mom is working on getting us nonprofit status. And my dear neighbor, Holly, will help me with anything from emergency vet runs to a glass of wine after a long day.

I think I’m in pretty good shape for now.

I want to acknowlege Lisa for saving these pigs before something truly dreadful happened to them.

I also want to acknowledge my two super boys,who peacefully endured 7 hours in the car with nothing more to show for it than a Happy Meal and 6 new piggies they can’t even visit.

Finally, I want to thank my husband for all his love and support.

Please email me at grayrose2@aol.com if you know anything about these pigs or about the Western PA Guinea Pig Rescue. There are more details, e.g. cages, breeding, etc. which I'd be happy to share, but privately.

Thank you,
Michele
Cavy Song Guinea Pig Rescue.
(PS. We're full right now.)

Erin8607
Knee Deep

Post   » Fri Jun 13, 2003 4:04 pm


Wow, this is very bothersome and I've emailed you.

When I went out there, the pigs all looked good and were seperated by sex. They were in small living quarters, but Cathy assured us they had a larger cage in her bedroom that was being cleaned that day.

Cathy was a very sweet woman when I met her, I'm a bit surprised at this.

User avatar
briana d

Post   » Fri Jun 13, 2003 4:07 pm


Wow. Those pigs are lucky to have found their way to you. You are also very lucky to have all the support that you have.

Poor pigs with great lives ahead of them. Good job!

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jun 13, 2003 4:09 pm


Be very careful not to pull things off their feet. Soak them in a warm dilute solution of water and chlorhexidine gluconate (it is cheap by the gallon on the internet -- there are generic versions). This way you can decide if it is poop or skin/spurs. If they have spurs they may be clipped. If you pull them off, the foot will bleed profusely and may get infected.

Good luck. Hope these guys heal well and find great homes.

Erin8607
Knee Deep

Post   » Fri Jun 13, 2003 11:02 pm


I just wanted to post something here since it's not being updated from what is being said on CG...

The pigs being put together in one cage together was not in Cathy's control, she's not good health wise and she trusted some younger people to care for her pigs... the person thought it easier to put all pigs into one cage to clean instead of the couple they were in...

This all comes from a post by one of Cathy's close friends (Lisa) and someone who's helped her with the rescue.

Just wanted to post the update so people aren't going against Cathy and her rescue efforts, like I said, having met her and her pigs, this was very shocking for me to read...

User avatar
LisasPigs

Post   » Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:17 am


Thank you Erin for the update on the situation...
Rescue is hard ...you have to have a strong stomach, and will, and know when you can't handle it...I knew I could only help Cathy by placing the babies as I already have 6 of my own...Cathy has been on the boards for years and I think until she had to depend on her kids to help her, her animals were in the greatest shape...She is very knowledgeable and very upset that she cannot take care of GPs right now...(she has a cast on her leg and she can't get around to even cook right now!!!)

I will continue to rescue the occasional sick or old GP...but I know my limits...
I encourage everyone to check out the thread I began with the call for help...I explained the situation re the animals conditions...

I missed you and Jen the day you were down at Cathy's and I am sorry 'bout that...I did get to see the pics of the babies...
As a matter of fact, you have pics of all the GPs except Riff and Raff...you should post the link again!!!

Lisa

Erin8607
Knee Deep

Post   » Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:21 am


I don't have them anymore actually, Jenn took them and she's not spoken to me in a month now.

As for people checking out the CG thread, it's pretty much not possible since most here are the banned and the beautiful.

User avatar
LisasPigs

Post   » Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:24 am


Sorry...the thread is on Cavies Galore.....

Erin8607
Knee Deep

Post   » Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:29 am


I'll see if I have the pics on any of my old picture disks where I saved them from the computer, I probably do somewhere.

I'll look this weekend, maybe get them posted again, maybe even get them on a page for adoption so once they are healed up they have a home waiting.. who knows.

grayrose

Post   » Sat Jun 14, 2003 2:03 am


I certainly didn't mean to imply that the condition of these pigs was in any way Cathy's fault. It isn't really anyone fault. The shocking, frightening thing is, however, how totally depended guinea pigs are on us and how fast they can get into serious trouble when bad things happen to the people caring for them. It is also a heads-up to all of us that we need the support of others. To quote from a sweet movie called "About A Boy" two isn't enough. You need three, you need more than three. No man is an island. Certainly not in rescuing.

Swoop024

Post   » Thu Apr 09, 2015 8:19 am


Is your rescue still around? I live in Pa.

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