Rescue News

October 2005

October Adoption & Care Seminar A Success!

Our October 22 event at the Durham Feed Store was a huge success. In addition to the adopters who arranged to come that day and pick up their new furry friends, we had a number of people drop in to make donations of money and supplies, apply to become foster homes, and apply to adopt guinea pigs. At the end of the day, five piglets left the rescue to move into their new homes, and three more were scheduled to leave the following weekend. In the two weeks prior to the event, and the week following, a total of 22 guinea pigs were adopted from rescue! Thank you to everyone who opened their hearts and homes to these wonderful little companions!

November 2005

November Adoption & Care Seminar Draws New Adopters

Our November 19 event at the Durham Feed Store, held in conjunction with Cottontail Rabbit Rescue, attracted new adoption applicants for both groups. Both rescues also raised donations through a bake sale (for the rabbits) and the sale of new notecards featuring pictures of rescued guinea pigs. Thank you to everyone who made donations to both rescues!

Working With Other Rescues

On November 12, 2005, we took in 12 guinea pigs from the Rhode Island SPCA (RISPCA), rescued from a breeder who was going out of business. Among this group were mothers with very young babies, many of whom were just barely weaned. The rescue and its foster homes will care for all these babies for several weeks until they are old enough to be adopted out to permanent homes. The same weekend, we took in four guinea pigs from Amiable Animals in New York, and expect new arrivals on the weekend of November 19 from the Danbury Animal Welfare Society (DAWS) and the Connecticut Humane Society. We are fortunate that, at least so far, all the animals appear to be quite healthy. Most just need some extra food, extra love, and extra handling.

In the month since our last adoption event, we have taken in 26 guinea pigs from other rescues and from owner surrenders. Because of this surge in new rescues, we are looking for additional foster homes and any donations of money or supplies.

December 2005

Critter Connection Helps Abandoned Pigs From Maryland

In late December, we took in 20 guinea pigs from an awful dump - presumably by an animal hoarder - in Baltimore, Maryland, where 109 guinea pigs were found in two boxes left behind a church in the city. Tragically, 30 died during the night from the cold and shock. The survivors were taken into custody by Baltimore City Animal Control and the Carrie Murray Nature Center in Baltimore. (Carrie Murray Nature Center is a city-run organization that cares for high volumes of injured wildlife and unwanted pets.)

Twenty of the surviving pigs were taken in by a local foster home in Maryland, and many of the 65 pigs in Carrie Murray Nature Center's care were taken in by rescues throughout the Northeast. All 20 guinea pigs that we took in had mites and were malnourished, and one of the little males was discovered to be blind. All the females had to be held for eight weeks to be certain they weren't pregnant.