Our Interview With The Associated Press Hits The Wire

We were recently interviewed by Sue Manning of the Los Angeles bureau of the Associated Press about the likely impact the upcoming Disney movie "G-Force" will have on guinea pig ownership (by purchase or adoption). She'd found us by way of our blog posting last month on G-Force, when this paragraph of mine caught her eye:

We can only hope that if there's a surge in kids asking their parents for guinea pigs as a result of this movie, the parents will all do their research before bringing any critters home. Otherwise, when the novelty wears off (which, sadly, it too often does), rescues everywhere are going to have their hands full with surrenders.

Sue's article hit the wire earlier today (July 22), and the Seattle newspaper has already picked it up. It's titled 'G-Force' likely to put guinea pigs atop pet list.

NBC 30 Connecticut contacted us late today about doing a story from the rescue's location in Durham this coming Friday, after seeing the AP story. Cindy, our rescue's founder/owner, will be doing that interview.

We'll post here and on Twitter when we know when the story is airing, and when the video clip hits their Web site.

Comments

[Whitney]

Hey Gwen--
Oops! The notification e-mail for your comment got buried in my box.

I think any time an animal is featured in an action, adventure, or fantasy film, there's always the risk that kids are going to try to re-enact what they say on screen. Parents really need to step up to the plate and make sure they have the fantasy vs. reality conversation with their kids.

Action figures are good too. I haven't always seen the point to some of them, but I'm increasingly thinking that where animal movie characters are concerned, action figures have a lot of value in allowing kids to be creative and rambunctious and in keeping living animals safe.

Thanks for stopping by!
Whitney

[Gwen]

*movie

I apologies for the double post, I typoed the second sentence, sit should be movie.

[Gwen]

I agree. The site may do a lot to get kids excited about guinea pigs, but they need to know the responsibility and work needed to raise one. Furthermore that the guinea pig spies in the movie are not realistic depictions behavior-wise. Without knowledge of this the kids could do harm to their pets by trying to get them to imitate the movie.

[Whitney]

Aimee--
A resounding "amen" to that!

We stress this information to folks who approach us at events and such -- but sometimes hearing it from another owner carries more weight than when it comes from an owner who is also on the board of a guinea pig rescue.

Thanks for stopping back in. :-)
Whitney

[Whitney]

Barbara--
We did approach a few theaters, only to receive no response or wholly discouraging responses. Hopefully, our other efforts (online) will still find the people who need to find them.

Thanks for stopping by!
Whitney

[Aimee]

I'm SO glad the news is covering this and that they are talking to The Critter Connection folks. I'm dreading the movie will have young people begging for guinea pigs and parents just giving in.

When I committed to caring for mine it altered my days and budget significantly:

My time: Their bedding is changed at least every other day (10 minutes a time), water every day (3 minutes a time), pellets and greens offered day and night (10 minutes total). The cage is wiped down once a week (up to 35 minutes). And also, you can't just leave them to vegetate. They should to be close you as much as possible, with their cage in a room you're often in. They should to be brought out for snuggle time and "playpen" time at least a few times a week (at least one hour).

My expenses: timothy hay costs me about $20 for a large package from PetCo, which only lasts me about one month if I'm lucky, pellets run about $10 for a three month supply, bedding another $20 a month, greens about $3/week. Vet care costs me a few hundred a year on average. A large custom cage (ideal) also cost just under a c-note.

If potential owners get hooked like me, GP ownership ideally becomes like a favorite hobby. All the to-do's can be so worth it. Hopefully families will know what they are getting into.

[Barbara]

I wonder if movie theaters near the shelter would be willing to distribute an info sheet re: what's really involved in caring for guinea pigs? Might be a good way to discourage some of those impulse purchases or at least direct parents to the shelter where they can learn more and adopt (instead of buying from a pet store) if they're really ready...