Local Rescues & Shelters Spotlight - Guinea Pig Rescue Ottawa

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GPRO The Guinea Pig Rescue Ottawa (GPRO) has been saving the lives of guinea pigs since 2019.

WHY DO GUINEA PIGS NEED RESCUING?

Well to put it quite simply there are many animal welfare issues that arise when it comes to poor breeding practices, uneducated pet stores, animal cruelty and many more heartbreaking issues. These animal welfare issues are a result of misinformation and lack of education. We decided that it was time to take action and help educate our community about guinea pigs’ needs, and how rewarding it can be to have these little guys as companions.

HOW THEY GOT STARTED?

We came across our first glimpse of the harsh reality of these little ones when we were at PetSmart shopping for our pet lizard Uromastyx named Red. We saw a small Guinea Pig that looked extremely scared and malnourished. We quickly adopted him on the spot!

Upon returning home we researched all we could about Guinea Pigs' conditions in pet stores and classified ads and this is when we knew we needed to take action. The overwhelming information we found about mistreatment in stores, abandonment by owners and euthanizations in shelters brought us to tears!

The more we researched, the more we found that even our local Guinea Pigs were being mistreated. A quick search on our local classified ads showed owners using language such as “Guinea Pig for sale, need gone ASAP" or "need gone or euthanized.” This broke our hearts and immediately had us running around the city responding to these ads, even coming across situations where guinea pigs were left outside in boxes.

During the warmer seasons we got many of these types of calls as people mistook these little creatures for wild animals, but the harsh reality is that these animals cannot survive on their own. Bred to be household pets and companions, guinea pigs are not something you can just throw away and forget about.

As we became more known around Ottawa, we started getting a lot of sick guinea pig surrenders because some owners could not afford medical treatment and vet visits. We paid out of pocket for surgeries and vet visitation and medication. “GUINEA PIGS ACROSS OTTAWA NEEDED OUR HELP URGENTLY!”

We got to work and began our rescue program by starting in our home, however we quickly ran out of room even with many adoptions, since the number of surrenders was growing so rapidly.

The adoption process ensures that families and individuals are ready to care for a small pet like a guinea pig and have the right knowledge for them to live happy and healthy lives. Thus, we had to relocate the guinea pigs to an apartment.

WORKSHOPS AND MATCHMAKING

It's extremely important to us to educate the public and potential adoptees about guinea pigs.

We do this by offering workshops, matchmaking and live feeds on social media providing information such as grooming, bathing, feeding, housing, medical treatments etc..

Guinea Pigs are herd animals, and need to be in a group of 2 or more to have a fulfilling and healthy life. When alone they tend to get skittish, depressed and anxious.

We also offer "Matchmaking" services for single guinea pigs of Ottawa to find their “match”. We help the bonding sessions by introducing the guinea pigs to each other in a safe space to avoid territorial confrontations. We then observe and make sure no guinea pigs get hurt during the process.

COMMON ILLNESSES

Guinea pigs are notorious for hiding their illnesses as they are prey animals. However, it is easy to detect skin abscesses that grow in small ball-like shapes that can be a cancer mass or a cyst. Some of these need to be removed ASAP. Most commonly, guinea pigs develop uti (urinary tract infection) and uri (upper respiratory infection) and require medication.

These illnesses can be hidden at times until it's too late, that's why it's important to always monitor even the slightest change in your guinea pig.

HOW YOU CAN HELP?

We don’t get many monetary donations and are out of pocket at the moment.

However, we are working on getting the local public involved in supporting and protecting these animals. Also we are aiming for the rescue to be self- sufficient at some level with the sales of merchandise.

GUINEA PIG RESCUE OTTAWA CONTACT INFORMATION:

LOCAL RESCUES & SHELTERS SPOTLIGHT ❤️🐾

Supporting my local community is very important to me, which is why I started the local rescues and shelters spotlight blog series.

The purpose of this initiative is to bring awareness to the many local shelters, rescues and nonprofit organizations that we have in our community and to help animals available for adoption find their fur-ever homes.

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