The Visit, Adoptions and Peanut

I will make a quick run down on the vet visit from yesterday. Abby and Juno the two guinea pigs are possibly not pregnant, just overly plump. Dr.T couldn't feel anything that would be a baby in them. He said guinea pigs do not show pregnancies in an X-ray. We are still keeping them for the duration of a pregnancy watch ( 2 to 2 and half months) just in case. Dr.T said they could be very early in their pregnancy where not much is "formed." Remi the hairless rat had 2 cysts, Dr.T was able to remove them both during the exam. After some healing time, he with then be adoptable. Quagmire the white pigeon had a great exam, he is healthy and ready for adoption. Baby the cockatiel had plugged up nares ( notrils ) from excess dander, after some flushing out her notrils are now clear. She is missing an entire toenail on her one foot. Could have resulted from an old injury. Otherwise, she is doing great. Chillia the chinchilla does have some issues. He has some tooth disease going on and mislignment of his teeth. Chillia is back to the vet today, he was dropped off this morning. Dr.T is taking X-rays of his teeth and jaw, and can hopefully help him out with the crooked and diseased tooth. He suspects there could be some problems with the roots of that tooth as well. I will update on how he is doing.
Yesterday, Pepper the baby angora rabbit was adopted. And also Goldie, Katie and Pocohantas the dwarf hamsters were adopted :)
Peanut the guinea pig arrived yesterday. He is a cute black and white guy with a crest of fur on his head. He has acclimated well to the hub bub of the house. He is eating timothy hay and exploring his new home.

Vet Visit Tomorrow and Hermit Crabs

Tomorrow , we are taking quite a few of the rescues to see Dr.Tomaschke. Quagmire the white pigeon is getting a wellness exam to make sure he is perfectly healthy before placing him as adoptable. He was wandering around outside a neighborhood for a month before anyone was able to catch him and bring him to the rescue. We want to make sure he didn't catch anything "bad" from outside. Baby the cockatiel is going for a wellness exam and beak trim. Baby was surrendered after a family moved into their new apartment and found the last person that lived their had abandoned Baby. The family was unable to keep her, and weren't expecting a bird as to part of their new home. Chillia the chinchilla has a runny eye and some fur loss around that eye, we want that looked at. Remi the hairless rat has a small lump that we want Dr.T to check out. And last but not least, the two female guinea pigs, Abby and Juno, arrived at the rescue already pregnant. I am certain Abby is pregnant , Juno I am not as sure. I want Dr.T to confirm if they are pregnant or not and make sure that everything is going okay with their pregnancy. Complications can arise with guinea pig pregnancy and labor. I am worried about these two girls. I am always so worried and nervous when a pregnant guinea pig arrives, I wish it wouldn't happen. We are completley against breeding but all too often , we take in a pet hat has already become pregnant somehow prior to their surrender. We also take in unwanted litters of babies. We would never, ever intnetionally breed or cause any female to become pregnant. Our mission is to help homeless pets , not create more.
Now that I went on a tangent and also went off topic.. onto the hermit crabs. We took in two hermit crabs two days ago. They were bought for a child, and then the child lost interest quickly :( The crabs made their way to the rescue so they can find a forever home. Hermit crabs are great pets and are as deserving of excellent care and love as any other pet. I have named the crabby duo, Jenga and Poker.

Mostly good news with a hint of sadness

I'll get the bad news over with: Gibbs the dwarf hamster has passed away. You may recall that he was one of the hamsters with a lot of medical issues. We believe that his body just couldn't take it any more and that he passed peacefully. His brothers, McGee and DiNozzo, have healed, however, and are in good condition. They are up for adoption.

Speaking of adoptions, Saturday's expo was a great success. There were a huge number of people that stopped over at the Small Pets-Big Hearts table, both people from other organizations, and people just interested in finding out more about us. I'll post more information as it gets sorted.

We had Charlie the ferret, Pepper the angora, Kirby, Marvin, and Norman the guinea pigs, Olivia and Casey the gerbils, and Goldie, Katie, and Pocahontas the dwarf hamsters at the convention to give people an idea of the animals we have up for adoption. We also had Lilly the rat there as a success story. Norman was brought on stage by a woman who was demonstrating clicker-training, and he brought a lot of attention our way. In addition, Lilly helped attract a lot of different people. She brought over people who liked rats and gave us the opportunity to find people who thought rats were "gross" or "mean" and change their minds.

Thanks to everyone's efforts and the adorableness of all of the animals, Norman the guinea pig has been adopted, as have Emma and Tessa the dwarf hamsters. Adoptions are pending for Lilly's sisters (all 4!) and her (neutered) brother Zack as well as for Gormy the rat.

So all we can say is "THANKS!" to all of the people (and animals!) who helped out with the expo. Since Rachel was ill, she couldn't make it, but with Ray's help and the help of a few volunteers, things went over very well. Keep spreading the word and getting people to adopt rather than buy. The more animals get adopted, the more animals we can get and place in loving homes. :)

A Long Overdue Post

Hi everyone! I sincerely apologize for my updating failure. I recently started a new job, and with training and learning all of the shifts, everything else went by the wayside, which is kind of unacceptable. But here are the notable things you've missed because I wasn't updating:

On August 29th, Baby the guinea pig was adopted. Tommy and Pepper the guinea pigs were adopted a few days later, as were Leonna and Luke the sugar gliders. Sadly, the last of the elderly mice passed away shortly thereafter, but we gained Remi the hairless rat, Herman, Melvin, and Norman the guinea pigs, as well as Albert the Syrian hamster.

Gibbs, McGee, and DiNozzo the dwarf hamsters have been healing well, thank goodness, and will hopefully be free of any umbilical infections very soon.

In addition, one week from today, SP-BH will be participating in another expo. I'll post the full information as soon as I can. What I do know for sure is that it's on the 25th at the Hamburg fairgrounds - where the Erie County Fair is held - and it's another adoption event. We'll be there with Charlie the ferret, Pepper the angora rabbit, Kirby and Norman the guinea pigs, Albert the hamster, and Oliva and Casey the gerbils. Will we see you there? We sure hope so!