In need of a home

Clutching the banker box housing Ophelia and her daughter Gertie, Mark Elliott said he felt good about being able to give the girls a second chance at life.

His son Toby, 9, was carrying the bag of hay his recently adopted guinea pigs would be eating once they arrived at their new home in Irvine.

The Elliotts had just attended an adoption event at Centinela Feed in Costa Mesa, hosted by Orange County Cavy Haven, a Costa Mesa-based organization founded in 2003 that rescues and finds homes for abandoned guinea pigs.

Cavy is the general term used when describing any of 14 species of South American rodents that includes guinea pigs, and at Sunday’s event, many of OC Cavy Haven’s furry, wide-eyed charges were placed with pre-approved adoptive families who had submitted five-page applications.

Educating the public about the need for adoption of these animals and providing information on how to care for them is the group’s focus, Hoglind said.

The message they want to get across is “Guinea pig adoption is the better option.” Better than buying them from a pet store, Hoglind said, when so many of these animals are euthanized at shelters before they can be rescued.

While many people think of cats and dogs when they decide to rescue an animal from a shelter, guinea pigs are abandoned just as often, and the majority of shelters aren’t equipped to care for them.

Most shelters have wire cages for animals, and guinea pigs can’t be kept in cages with wire floors because their feet are delicate and easily damaged. They also require a specialized diet of fresh green vegetables, high quality grass hay and pellets.

Why are there so many abandoned guinea pigs in the first place?

Hoglind said many parents think guinea pigs make good “starter pets,” and more often than not, it’s an impulse buy. Parents then mistakenly think kids can take care of them without any help or supervision.

Hoglind’s daughter, Courtney Brooks, 11, who got her first guinea pig when she was 7, volunteers at the OC Cavy Haven adoption events and said parents need to work with kids to monitor the feeding, keep the cage clean and make sure their pet is getting enough attention if they want a happy guinea pig. And if a guinea pig is happy, you’ll know it.

They “popcorn,” a rather frenetic activity where they throw themselves into the air, twisting, turning and basically, jumping for joy.

Not too many of them are popcorning at the shelters the OC Cavy Haven volunteers pluck them out of. Shelters often receive “breeder dumps,” a large group of guinea pigs all at once, probably as a result of back-to-back breeding, Hoglind said.

Female guinea pigs, or sows, can become pregnant as young as 4 weeks old and can be impregnated within minutes of delivering a litter. Hoglind said breeding mills are notorious for impregnating young guinea pigs constantly.

Karen McVeigh drove from Los Angeles with her three kids for the event Sunday, after being pre-approved for an adoption.

“I’d never owned a guinea pig before, and went on the Internet to get information. OC Cavy Haven discourages you from buying a guinea pig at the pet store because they usually come from ‘piggy mills’ or breeders, and most of the time they can’t even tell you what sex the guinea pig is,” McVeigh said. 

McVeigh, who knew she was going to adopt at least two guinea pigs (and ended up leaving with three) wanted to be very sure they were all the same sex.

Misty, Mocha and Sky are the three guinea pig girls that went home with McVeigh’s kids.

McVeigh said she is fully prepared to be the caretaker of the pigs, especially since they are so much fun to watch and hold.

“They make noises, they interact with you, and it’s a great way for the kids to learn about taking care of something,” she said.

To adopt a guinea pig through the Orange County Cavy Haven, visit www.cavyhaven.org.

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at sue.thoensen@latimes.com.