One woman in California has made it her mission to rescue unwanted guinea pigs from shelters, etc. The San Mateo County Times interviews her.
Teresa Murphy has been rescuing guinea pigs from shelters and homes that don't want them anymore and finding new owners for them. She talked recently with staff writer Justin Jouvenal.Q. I guess having guinea pigs in your dining room interferes with your entertaining plans.
A. It's a good thing. I'm not into cooking. I eat out a lot.
Q. How did you get into guinea pig rescue?
A. My boyfriend had a guinea pig when I met him. After doing some research, I found out that the guinea pig needed a friend, so I went to the pet store and bought a guinea pig. She was pregnant and had five babies. One of the sons got the sister and the mother pregnant so we ended up with two more litters. We ended up with about 12 guinea pigs. I did some research and reading and discovered there were guinea pigs at humane societies, pounds and shelters. It turns out there is a big problem with homeless "pocket pets" -- rats, guinea pigs and hamsters. I went to the Peninsula Humane Society and adopted one more guinea pig. I thought, "Well now, I've got 13 guinea pigs, what's one or two more? I'll do guinea pig rescue."