Guinea Pig Connection

Guinea Pigs On TV Tonight

If you missed the news earlier this week, we were one of several rescues interviewed by the Associated Press wire service regarding the impact that we fear that "G-Force" is going to have on guinea pigs and guinea pig rescues everywhere.

NBC Connecticut 30 contacted us on Wednesday when the story hit the wire, and came out to interview Cindy this evening. Ben got lots of good information from Cindy, while Sedona, Bud, Minerva, Pogo, and Gracie hammed it up for Dan the cameraman. As it turned out, "camera fright" is not an issue for Sedona or Bud.

The interview will be airing on tonight's 11 p.m. newscast, and is getting a fair bit of promotion. If you miss the story tonight, or live in another state, the video will likely be loaded to their Web site this weekend.

It will be interesting to see how Ben and Dan seamed everything together. Bud, in moving in for his close-up (instead of waiting for Dan to do it), smudged up the camera lens. Sedona was in Cindy's arms during the interview and she kept looking straight into Dan's camera as if to say, "Does she really think anyone is going to notice her with me sitting here??"

We think a diva and a matinee idol were born today...

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.

More Guinea Pigs On Squidoo

In the last 24 hours, we've published three new pages on Squidoo, which we hope you'll take a look at, share with your friends, and Twitter and FaceBook about (if you're on either of those services).

Things Your Guinea Pigs Want You To Know is a collection of mini-essays, from the perspective of an experienced owner, about guinea pig intelligence, psychology, and health that don't get discussed enough (or at all) in care guides.

Minerva's Guide To Guinea Pig Supplies is kind of a shopping list for new guinea pig owners to help them figure out what guinea pigs do and don't need.

The Guinea Pig Lover's Bookshelf is a list of guinea pig care guides that we recommend, as well as the growing selection of storybooks (starring guinea pigs) that we've fallen in love with.

We also made updates to one of our other pages, How To Spoil Your Guinea Pig.

If you want a full listing of our Squidoo pages, you can find it on our profile page on the same site. We update our pages regularly; you can keep up to date with our activities through our Twitter feed or by subscribing to each page through RSS using the buttons at the bottom of each page:

The RSS subscribe button is the second from the right. Other buttons make it easy to send page links to FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, and e-mail. 

Guinea Pigs On Alltop

On June 24, we learned that our humble guinea pig blog had been added to the Pets category on Alltop, a prestigious content aggregation site founded by bestselling author and former Apple Evangelist Guy Kawasaki. We are pleased and excited to be the first guinea pig blog -- and the first dedicated small-and-furry exotic pets blog -- to be included in their Pets category.

If you haven't heard of Alltop yet, it's like an online magazine rack that points you in the direction of good content for a specific topic category, like small business, public relations, human rights, Buddhism, and much more. Where a search engine throws everything at you in response to a search word or phrase you entered, and a blog directory lists thousands upon thousands of blogs without telling you which ones are good, Alltop wrestles with the overload of online information by selecting what it regards to be the "best of the best" blogs in a topic category.

One social media advisor calls Alltop the "go-to source for finding blogs within specific topics." Another columnist says it's a "simple entry path into a few carefully selected top RSS feeds (i.e., blogs) in several key categories. ...One thing radically different, however, is that Alltop is putting up a selection of blogs. It isn't the whole Internet, it is a listing of top blogs."

So, if you haven't checked out Alltop yet, it's absolutely worth doing so. You're guaranteed to find some real gems up there.

Pig Notes Gets A New Name

Whether you read us here on the blog itself, through an e-mail subscription, or through a RSS aggregator, you're likely noticing that something is different today.

We've renamed Pig Notes.

Mostly, it's about making it easier for guinea pig owners and enthusiasts to find us through search engines and blog directories. We review our site statistics frequently, and see the kinds of search terms that folks around the country and around the globe have used that have led them to us. Plus, Guinea Pig Connection will end any initial confusion for searchers about whether this blog is about guinea pigs or...well...the other species of pig that likes to play in the mud.

You won't see a change in the focus of the blog's content. For some, the name change might not have registered for a few days. But we knew it would be most visible to those who subscribe by e-mail, and wanted to avoid any confusion about the new Subject line you'll be seeing in your inboxes.

The Piggies Need Help!

We hope you'll forgive us as we briefly interrupt our "regular programming."

Over the years that we've been running this blog, we've always kept Pig Notes first and foremost an educational resource. We've sprinkled in bits of rescue-related news -- public appearances, press mentions, the debut of new resources, the rare mention of some no-pressure fundraising ventures. Our e-mail subscriber counts and site statistics tells us that the formula has been working for you.

So, please know that the decision to post this article did not come easily to us. We need to say this. We thank you in advance for your attention and compassion, and want to assure you that this kind of post is NOT going to become a regular, or semi-regular, thing on Pig Notes.

The rescue is having trouble. We need help in order to continue doing what we're doing. We're hoping that, somewhere out there, there are some guinea-pig-loving guardian angels.

Since 2004, we have worked on several large cruelty cases and hoarder situations. Some of those guinea pigs that we rescued are not easily adoptable due to health or behavioral issues. Their quality of life is very good, but they have issues that make them less attractive to new and inexperienced adopters, such as:

• recurring eye problems that need to be treated with vet-prescribed eye ointment
• occasional recurring upper respiratory infections that need to be treated with vet-prescribed antibiotics
• arthritic joints
• nervous and skittish temperaments that respond well to loving and patient care by adults in kid-free homes

Experienced owners will recognize that these are not difficult issues -- just things that need a watchful eye and a gentle hand. Because we are a no-kill rescue, we keep these guinea pigs with us and give them the best food and medical care available. While we're committed to giving them love, care, and attention for their entire lives, we've always hoped that some experienced guinea pig owners would come along and adopt them.

With 24 permanent residents that include seniors and special-needs pigs, plus 10-15 adoptable pigs (at any given time), we are struggling. The economy is compounding our troubles, as some pigs we adopted out in 2004 and 2005 have returned to the rescue as financially struggling families have had to surrender pets. Because these pigs are seniors (5+ years old), they will be difficult to place with new families and will likely remain with us for the rest of their lives. The more sanctuary pigs we have, the less space we have for more easily adoptable guinea pigs; the fewer adoption fees we bring in, the less we have in available funds to care for all the pigs in the rescue.

The rescue's operation depends primarily on donations and adoption fees. These funds are supplemented in smaller ways through other channels, including C&C cage sales, vacation boarding fees, iGive earnings, Zazzle and Squidoo royalties, occasional donations of supplies and fresh produce, and the occasional grant through corporate giving/matching programs.

As a result of our growing sanctuary and decreasing donations, the rescue's bank account has been drained, Cindy (the rescue's owner/founder) is having to tap into her personal finances (again) to care for the pigs, and the rescue's board is fighting to find ways to keep the rescue open. We badly need donations of any size to help with the approximately $800 in monthly expenses for food, hay, cage bedding, fresh veggies and fruit, and medical care.

An additional help would be to find loving homes that understand 4- and 5-year-old guinea pigs can still offer loving, charming companionship for potentially 2-3 more years. We know there are people out there who recognize the unique blessings that senior pets can give their families. Over the years, we've found a few who deliberately sought out senior animals. We hope this posting will find a few more.

There are several ways you can make a donation to the rescue, including PayPal. If you are interested in adopting, please check our adoptables list or contact us directly, as some of our pigs are not listed on our Petfinder page. (For those of you who read our posts through e-mail, all those phrases in blue are hyperlinks to pages on our Web site with additional information.) All donations are tax-deductible, and gratefully received.

We thank you again for reading. We'll be back to our "regular programming" after the weekend.

March Is Adopt A Guinea Pig Month!

Ah...our favorite time of year...when the humble and ever-so-lovable guinea pig has an entire month dedicated to expounding its virtues!
 
To help mark the occasion, we'll be appearing at the Rabbit & Small Critter Care Fest, sponsored by the Newington branch of the Connecticut Humane Society, on March 15 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Download Newington's Critter Care Fest). We'll also be publishing an article -- "More Guinea Pig Myths Debunked" in the March 2009 issue of Pets Press.

If you'd like to help us mark the occasion and support guinea pig rescue, check out our Zazzle gallery. Our volunteer Aimee uploaded three new magnets and will be adding new note cards as well.

Stay tuned!

 

Back By Popular Demand -- The Rescue Calendar

Yep, it's getting close to that time of year again -- when we have to get new calendars for gift giving, for our own kitchens, our offices, our cubicles...

May we humbly suggest The Critter Connection's 2009 calendar?
 
Thanks to the hard work of our volunteer, Aimee Belair, the 2009 Critter Connection Calendar is ready, just in time for holiday shopping! Once again, we feature 12 full-color close-up photos that will make any guinea pig lover swoon. This year's calendar models include Barbie, Becca, Chief, Rouge, Madison, Maxie, Arrow, Aries, Monk, Priscilla, and The Critter Connection sanctuary's newest "It Couple" -- Sedona and Bud.

The calendar is available for purchase in our Zazzle gallery. You can choose from three sizes: 7" x 11", 11" x 17", and 14.5" x 22" (we recommend the 11" x 17" size). A portion of every purchase goes toward the daily and medical care needs of the adoptable and sanctuary pigs at the rescue.

Last year's calendar sales exceeded our expectations, and provided the rescue pigs with many wonderful veggies. We're hoping that this year will be even better!

We'll Be In Hartford This Saturday

In recognition of Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, there will be a Blessing of the Animals on Saturday, October 4 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Hartford, CT.

 

Co-sponsored by the church and the Ferret Association of Connecticut, the day will include representatives from animal organizations offering information about adoptions (including us!), a Silent Auction of pet and people goods, and a low-cost vaccination clinic. Reverend Richard Silbereis will provide a Blessing for your pet (or pet photo). Each pet will receive a small Blessing memento.

 

Admission for the public is free, although a gift of pet food is requested.

 

The Church of the Good Shepherd is located at 155 Wyllys Street in Hartford, just south of the Convention Center. Blessing will begin at 1 pm.

 

If you can't make it this Saturday, please check our Web site, as we're participating in four events around the state during the month of October.

Pet Expectations Presentation in Shelton

On Saturday, August 9, 2008, from 1-3:30 p.m., Written Words Bookstore in Shelton, CT, is teaming up with Our Companions and The Critter Connection to talk about picking the right pet, where to find reliable information, and the wide array of resources available to you for Q&A about specific species and breeds.

The event kicks off with story time for the kids, featuring "The Perfect Pet," a book the whole family can relate to! Our Companions will then present on dog and cat adoption and ownership, followed by the The Critter Connection on adopting and owning small/exotic pets of the furry persuasion.

The human educators will be accompanied by kid-friendly furry ambassadors. In addition to Q&A opportunities with the presenters, there will be handouts, fact sheets, rescue lists, and book lists available for you to peruse and take home.