02.06.10
Posted in Adoptions at 6:00 am by Jenn
Amelia is a 5 year old lady that was surrendered to the local animal shelter by her family just before Christmas. They left a note saying that they had had her for five years, but could no longer care for her, and asked that she be found a good home. ACR&S pulled her, as a senior, and set about looking for her perfect home.
It didn’t take long! Alison and Ed saw her on Petfinder and fell in love. They already have an older sow named Sophie who was alone. She’d been alone for most of her life (with out of cage playdates with other piggies), but they were open to seeing if the girls would get along together.
The introductions went very well, with the two girls mostly just sitting in opposite corners and calling each other names, but soon they settled down and agreed to have a snack together, with Sophie graciously allowing Amelia to reside in her piggie palace. Thank you again to Alison and Ed for opening up your homes and your hearts to a piggie in her twilight years.
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02.04.10
Posted in Adoptions at 6:00 am by Jenn
Frazier has found his happy ending! Frazier was abandoned at the Orange County Animal Shelter all alone right before Christmas. He was estimated to be around 1 year of age, and seemed lonely. Joe and his family had just applied for a piggie to be friends with their piggie, Rocky. I sent them pictures of Frazier and told his story and a date was set!
Rocky, an older 2 year old male, had never had a friend before, so I brought over my blanket and introduction fence, and we spent a few smelly hours watching the pair chase and mark each other. Finally, tired, they flopped down and had a snack together — and that was the end of it! Frazier and Rocky are now close friends, and both enjoy running laps and annoying each other like true brothers.
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02.03.10
Posted in Adoptions at 6:00 am by Jenn
A hearty congratulations to Parsley (formerly Kris) for finding his forever home with Mehrunissa and her family! Parsley went home to live with his two new brothers, Ariel and Apple, and though it was a long day, he’s now best friends with both of them. Initially it was pretty rough — Parsley being a young energetic adolescent, and the older piggies wanting nothing more to do than to eat and nibble and snooze, but soon enough they were sharing salads and making piggie trains through their palatial C&C cage.
Thank you again, Mehrunissa, for offering this little man the perfect home, complete with big salads, good buddies, and lots of room to run and play!
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02.02.10
Posted in Adoptions at 8:25 am by Jenn
A congratulations to Comet and Meteor for finding their new homes! Comet and Meteor were returned guinea pigs — originally adopted out by South Carolina Guinea Pig Rescue (which has since merged with ACR&S), their family was unable to keep them after several major life changes. The big (and we mean huge!) 3 year old boys returned to us.
Doug and his family were looking for the perfect piggies to live with their family, piggies who were used to kids and would not be spooked by their well-meaning caresses. Comet and Meteor, having lived with kids their whole life, were much calmer than the average piggie, and after scant minutes in their new house were already wheeking for veggies and accepting cuddles.
Thank you again to Doug and his family for offering Comet & Meteor their forever home!
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01.26.10
Posted in Memorials at 10:54 am by Jenn
It is with a heavy heart that we wish Pinball the guinea pig a swift trip over the bridge. Last Tuesday, January 19th, Pinball was back in for another tooth trim, in preparation for his new chin sling headgear. The weekend before (5 days after his last trim) we had already noticed his incisors out of alignment, and knew that we were likely to find the same situation this time as we had last time. And we were right. When Dr. Munn got a good gander at his teeth, they’d already trapped his tongue again.
He prepared to start trimming and prodded the first tooth gently. It fell out. The one behind it was also quite loose and with gentle wiggling also fell out. [Picture of the teeth can be viewed here] We were both flabbergasted, but I asked him to trim what remained and we’d go from there. He didn’t appear to have any trouble on the anesthesia while he was under, but showed some difficulty waking up. He was brought home to be coddled and kept warm until he could wake.
Pinball spent most of the evening in a quiet room on his heating pad in his carrier. Much later in the night, he started stirring regularly and we thought he was out of the woods. I went to bed and left my husband to keep an eye on him (to make sure he didn’t get burned on his heating pad and in case he had trouble). At 2am, Anthony woke me up to let me know that he’d sighed and breathed his last.
It was a staggering loss for us. He’d only been here a month, but Pinball was so energetic. He’d learned when feeding times were and would beg as adroitly as any of our other, normal piggies. He loved coating himself nearly head to toe with Critical Care, and tolerated his sponge baths with much dignity. We are still saddened by his loss, and we haven’t yet been able to bring ourselves to break down his little quarantine cage.
We would like to thank everyone who called, emailed, wrote, and posted their good thoughts and good wishes to Pinball. We told him every night how many people were pulling for him and how he’d never have to worry about anything again if we could only get through this. We received donations and cards from all over the US, and even internationally. Our sincere thanks go out to Sponsor a Guinea Pig for allowing Pinball to be January’s pig, and for helping organize all the good will going towards his recovery. If nothing else, Pinball’s illness has been an important wakeup call that vet care is never optional for small animals, and that denying them this care can severely impair them for life. If his suffering can help even one other pig to not end up in the same situation, it has not been in vain.
Thank you again, everyone, for your kind thoughts and for rooting for Pinball. He was one of a kind.
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01.09.10
Posted in Adoptions at 7:00 am by Jenn
A very happy ending to Nina and Leda! The day after New Year’s, these two adorable piggies went to their forever home.
Meg and family had lost two beloved cats in 2008, and their family was looking for another pet. Their girls had wanted guinea pigs, and after much research and forethought, the parents agreed — they would make a good family pet that everyone could enjoy! It was difficult for them to pick from among so many eligible piggies, but the eventually settled for Nina and Leda.
The adoption was picture perfect! Leda showed off her highly developing eating skills while Nina showed off her camouflage skills (more than once we couldn’t tell which end was which!) After a session to meet the family, the girls settled into their new piggie palace and helped themselves to a salad!
A huge thanks to Meg and her wonderful family for offering these girls (now Truffles and Penny) a forever home, and for helping ACR&S to start off a wonderful new year with a slew of quality adoptions!
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01.08.10
Posted in Adoptions at 7:00 am by Jenn
Machu the chinchilla, after spending over a year in foster, finally went to his forever home for the new year. SciWorks, a learning museum in Winston Salem, is working on a brand new “South America” exhibit. They approached us, wanting to patronize rescue since there were so many animals looking for homes. They wanted one or more chinchillas that were friendly and approachable, and would make suitable program animals.
Machu had been looking for the perfect place to go — he is an amazingly friendly guy who’s outgoing personality never failed to win over strangers. He is also an adept beggar, so when we dropped him off we made sure that they knew that his little doe eyes hid the world’s best scam artist.
So far, staff are reporting that he’s a big hit (although his enclosure isn’t ready) and that everyone’s day is brightened as he begs for chin scratches and treats!
Thanks so much to the kind and caring staff at SciWorks for providing a forever home for Machu, and for going out of their way to provide an ideal environment for him to reside in!
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01.07.10
Posted in Adoptions at 7:00 am by Jenn
Shortly before Christmas, Homer the Non-Homing Pigeon had his happily ever after!
We were contacted by a pigeon afficianado living out near Andrea in the western part of the state. Ricky told us all about his pigeon loft, complete with fenced, outdoor aviary which allows the birds to go out and fly and exercise as they please.
Homer is now living happily with an entire flock of pigeons. According to his new dad, he is fitting in amazingly and is making friends left and right.
Thanks to all the pigeon folks that called and emailed to make sure that Homer was going to a good home and to give us excellent advice for making sure that he was happy in the meantime!
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01.06.10
Posted in Adoptions at 12:35 pm by Jenn
Early in December, Zoë, an HRS member and rabbit-servant extraordinaire, from SC contacted us looking for a third for her pair of middle aged bunnies. She really wanted them both to have someone in case one of their friends passed away. She had seen the profiles on our prison bunnies and had liked the look of Sundance. We emailed back and forth, she filled out an adoption application, and things were looking great for Sundance! She was going to be home by Christmas.
Unfortunately, a snowstorm picked that weekend to strike NC and the roads weren’t very good, so we bumped back the transport. We finally made it happen — on New Year’s Day! We met halfway between our respective homes, and I was surprised and impressed — Zoë and her husband had converted their SUV into a rolling bunny pen for introductions! Their two bunnies, Hunter and Day-Z were in the back, grouchy, and along the trip back the spare person introduced the bunnies. There was soon snuggling and commiserating about the craziness of humans. As you can see from the pictures, introductions are going well and Sundance (now Sun-E) seems to have found her place.
Zoë and I both laughed at how we misjudged both her rabbits and my rabbit’s sizes! I thought her buns were much smaller, and she thought Sun-E was much bigger! So far, though, everyone seems to be getting along, and Sun-E is showing the two boys that little bunnies are not to be pushed around! Thank you again to Zoë and her husband Gary for offering their home to this wonderful bunny. We’re excited to consistently have such amazing homes for our rabbits!
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01.05.10
Posted in Medical, Sanctuary Spotlight at 2:01 pm by Jenn
Our very own Pinball is the pig of the month for Sponsor a Guinea Pig in January! We are pleased and honored that we were cho
sen to be January’s rescue.
Pinball was in again today for dental surgery (his incisors had overgrown horrendously since his first tooth trim on December 10th), and we got some extremely bad news for him. His molars had also overgrown — and not only overgrew, but overgrew enough to trap his tongue! Because of the speed with which they overgrew since his intial trim, his prognosis is not looking very good. We have elected to go ahead and trim him back down to “zero”, to attempt massaging and possibly purchase a chin sling for him, and to give this guinea pig the chance that he didn’t get the first go-round.
We ask that you keep Pinball in your thoughts. There has been an outpouring of love and support from all across the country, and we are touched and amazed that one little pig has meant so much to so many people. As always, at ACR&S, we try to make the best choices for all of our animals, and sadly acknowledge that sometimes the best choice is a gentle end. Be assured as we struggle to make the best choice for Pinball, our hearts are always looking to what is best for him in the long run. Thank you again, everyone, for all the kindness that you’ve shown to a spunky little pig that got a second chance.
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Amelia is a 5 year old lady that was surrendered to the local animal shelter by her family just before Christmas. They left a note saying that they had had her for five years, but could no longer care for her, and asked that she be found a good home. ACR&S pulled her, as a senior, and set about looking for her perfect home.
