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WHY CHOOSE TO ADOPT THROUGH ACS?

It can be very easy to purchase a guinea pig. One could easily just go down the road to your local Pet shop or Breeder without any hassle.

The ACS process may seem out of the norm for some so why choose to adopt through ACS? Below are some of the reasons to Opt to Adopt through ACS!

• The Australian Cavy Sanctuary is a registered community purpose organisation. We are a legit organisation and you are assured a professional and honest ongoing service by taking the time to adopt a homeless guinea pig through our organisation.

•  By adopting a guinea pig through ACS you're not only saving a life but helping to stop/not contribute to a serious cycle of over breeding of guinea pigs here in Australia. The Australian Cavy Sanctuary has been struggling with high numbers of surrenders over the past few years with most shelters sitting on more than 150 homeless guinea pigs for most of the year. 1000's of guinea pigs are surrendered to our shelters each year from a variety of backgrounds and the numbers have been increasing each year by the 100's. These statistics show us that their is an ongoing increase in the overbreeding of guinea pigs in Australia. 

• All ACS Guinea Pigs are health checked, mite treated and wormed and have been through a standard period of stay at the shelter so that we can be sure the guinea pig/s you choose to adopt are 100% healthy. Not all other places will not offer you this guarantee.

• The team at ACS take the time to work with each family individually to find the right guinea pig/s for their home environment. This includes a visit to the shelter to handle and see the guinea pigs that may suit your family and this also includes us taking the time to get to know each individual guinea pig's personality and in turn the sort of home that will suit them best. 

• No profit for us! Your adoption fee will go directly to helping fund/care for the other homeless animals in our care so in turn you are actually donating aswell when you choose to adopt. 

  Free ongoing advice. The team at ACS offer free ongoing advice to guinea pig owners. You can contact us at any time via email or phone or our general enquires account regarding any guinea pig health, medical or general question/concern you may have about your guinea pigs.

• The ACS keep all guinea pigs in correctly sexed well matched/friendy pairs or set groups (bar the odd single piggy!) and have a holding period for any guinea pigs that do not come to the shelter with full history. You are assured a guinea pig that is not pregnant or incorrectly sexed and you are assured a guinea pig that will not fight with it's companion. ACS receive many phone calls every year whereby families that have bought from Pet shops or similar environments have ended up with pregnant guinea pigs, sick guinea pigs, guinea pigs that fight with each other for instance and this is because many other places just place every single guinea pig that comes to them in together or those that do separate them often do not know how to correctly sex a guinea pig, resulting in females being housed with males either deliberately or accidentally.  

• Return Policy. ACS have a return policy whereby if in the future you are unable to keep your adopted guinea pig any longer, that we receive first offer to take the guinea pig back into our care. This policy is a no questions asked policy and can help, in particular, families new to guinea pigs whereby the guinea pigs just may not be work out to be the pet for them for whatever the reason. Unlike some other places the guinea pigs age will not effect whether they can come back to the shelter or not.

• At ACS we take the time to match same sex pairs/groups of guinea pigs with each other. Not all guinea pigs will get along with each other due to dominant/submissive or aggressive natures which can be a result of who they have been housed with in the past, how they were kept or this could also just be their natural nature. Some guinea pigs simply do not like having new friends and can be 'clicky' within their current group. We take the time to consider all our guinea pigs personalities and pair/group alot of our guinea pigs prior to adoption so that you are assured a well matched/friendly pair/group of guinea pigs. If you have a single guinea pig needing a friend ACS also offer a service here and ask that the guinea pig be brought to the shelter when adopting so that we can try them in a playpen with their potential new friend/s to make sure that they are a good match by watching how they interact.

• Pet shops. Many Pet Shops stock their stores with guinea pigs that are brought in by their regular 'backyard breeder' supplier. How the guinea pigs are kept in the Pet Shop is not necessarily how they are living behind the scenes. They may be coming from a regular supplier that keeps their animals in poor conditions. ACS have seen cases of this and it is not uncommon so by purchasing from the store you couple potentially be helping to 'clear out pigs so more can come in' and the cycle continues without anyone even knowing how the animals are previously kept. Some Pet Shops nowadays re-home RSPCA or rescue animals only and this paragraph here is not relevant to the stores nowadays that do support these sorts of clauses.

• ACS Shelters are managed by people who have many years practical first hand experience, studies and medical knowledge in guinea pigs and their care. Due to this you are assured high quality and correct advice and a healthy happy guinea pig. 

• The most special part of adopting through an ACS Shelter is that you are not only helping to give a home to a homeless guinea pig but that you will also be helping to free a space for another homeless guinea pig in need. Adoption is a very rewarding and worthwhile process for both yourself and your special new family members and by choosing to adopt you are also in turn playing a part in helping other guinea pigs in need.