Pet stores improving?

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Knhappyface

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:54 pm


I completely agree about the backyard breeding and everything, but aren't most Guinea Pigs that come from rescues in need of special care? I've never owned a piggy before, and, although I know quite a bit from reading around, I don't think I'd be able to give the required medicines/attention/whatever else right from the start.

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:19 pm


Most pigs in rescues are just regular pigs - the ones that kids get bored with, or the babies that the pigs from the pet store have once you bring them home. They aren't special needs any more than other pigs. They do have the advantage of often coming to you healthy - the rescue will often treat for all illnesses before adopting out. They can also tell you about the pig's personality and help fit you to a pig that suits your household best. That never happens with pet store pigs!

Most rescues won't adopt out special needs pigs, except to a home that has experience with special needs pigs. Lots of rescues have "sanctuary" pigs that aren't healthy enough to adopt out, so they live out their lives at the rescue.

The folks here at GL will go out of their way to help you find pigs to adopt. You'd be surprised. :-)

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sus4rabbitsnpigs

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:47 pm


No, it is a myth that rescue animals are all old and sickly. People will dump anything from the pregnant to newborn to young adult or older pet, for any given reason. Most of the time it has nothing to do with the pet themself.

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Knhappyface

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:48 pm


Hmm ..
That's really good to know. Now if only the shelter in my town carried small animals. Like I said before, they only have dogs and cats - I have no idea what happens to the unwanted piggies.

"
Which are of British Columbia are you nearest to? This is how Craigslist divides BC:


comox valley
cranbrook
fraser valley
kamloops
kelowna
nanaimo
prince george
vancouver
victoria
whistler
"

I'm IN Prince George, in fact! I'll definately look there right away.

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Knhappyface

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:51 pm


I just checked Craigslist, and there were no Guinea Pigs in Prince George - only dogs and horses. All the other cities are at least 6 hours away from me.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:56 pm


Shelter pigs are usually perfectly fine pets that someone gave up for any number of reasons: kids got bored with it; family member has allergies; owner moved and the new landlord doesn't accept pets. The list goes on and on.

One of my favorite guinea pigs, is our old man Henry whom we adopted from a shelter two years ago. He came to us highly socialized, and loves giving chin kisses.

Do look around for ads in the paper, Craigslist...ask local vets if they know of anyone looking to rehome a guinea pig. Put an ad on community bulletin boards, or ask co-workers or church members. Pigs in need of a home are out there if you're patient and persistent.

Good luck.

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sammianne

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:04 pm


Another Craigslist idea is to put up a "guinea pig wanted" type ad. That is how I got my first Craigslist pig. I was looking for days but it was mostly sows listed and I needed a boar. It seemed like every ad for a boar I found he was already adopted or too far away. I finally got frustrated and put a wanted ad up saying what I was looking for and how far I could travel to pick up a pig. That same day I was emailed by a lady with a boar needing a home. She had pulled the listing because she thought she found him a new family, but that fell through. Too bad for those folks because they are missing out on one precious little piggie.

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:10 pm


A pig-wanted ad is a good idea. Good luck!

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Knhappyface

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:56 pm


Thanks, that's a great idea, sammianne!

..Funny how this topic hardly relates to pet stores anymore *gigglesnort*
Still, I don't think I'll go to as great measures as buying NOTHING from pet stores .. my mom is highly opposed to buying absolutely ANYTHING online, she has this thing about her credit card number being stolen or being scammed.
Is buying everything BUT the piggies from a petstore just as bad as buying everything there?

Alibabble

Post   » Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:05 pm


I just moved from Prince George less than a year ago. The SPCA almost never lists their exotics on petfinder. Definitely wander down and have a look.

Also, the Ospika Pet and Farm beside All Mobile Vet has animals for adoption. They are owner surrenders and you pay an adoption fee of whatever you want. Two of my pigs came from there. As an added bonus they have most supplies and don't sell animals so they were my favourite place to go.

You can also put in your name with the vet clinics in town to see if anyone is looking to rehome. I worked at PG Vet for years and we used to keep an adoption book in reception that had ads for animals to be rehomed, and wanted ads. PG Vet will also order Oxbow food for you.

If you check craigslist and the buy and sell I can almost guarantee that there will be pigs there. So many people dump them once they understand that they will be work.

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:02 am


Just for your mom's information (hope this doesn't make her more paranoid!) - credit card scammers can get your number from anywhere! I've had a credit card for over 20 years, and the only time it has been scammed is from a gas station. One idea is to have a card dedicated to online purchases and have a low limit, so if it is scammed, you know right away where the scamming happened, and you also have less money available (although credit card companies are very good at refunding scammed money, in my experience).

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I've found most pet shops don't even have the stuff I want, and online shopping works better for me in that regard. If you can find supplies-only shops, it is nice to support them. If you're stuck with PetStupid or similar, just don't visit the section with the animals. Avert your eyes! They'll pull at your heart.

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Leb
Supporter in '08

Post   » Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:37 am


My exotic vet sells oxbow products for my pigs so I don't need to buy from the pet store.

Also I found a pet supply store that doesn't sell anything living.

I just prefer not to spend my money on places that support the mistreatment of animals.

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