welcome to pigpals!

PigPals is designed to help beginning guinea pig owners through a "pen pal" system of pairing up experienced and novice piggy lovers via email. Beginners will learn about responsible piggy care by corresponding one-on-one with someone who is experienced with guinea pigs, and hopefully a few lasting friendships will be discovered!

To begin, read all of the information below to determine if this program is right for your needs. If you simply need some answers to a few questions, or fairly quick advice, use the CavyMadness or GuineaLynx messageboards, which are best suited for getting answers to questions.PigPals is designed to be long-term.

Trina, the PigPals Coordinator
Trina Pelham, of CavyCare, Inc. in Colorado, has extensive guinea pig experience from being a pet owner and rescuer. One of her many guinea pigs, Spike, is pictured at right.

Trina has worked closely with her personal vet, Dr. Jerry Kostner, on guinea pig nutrition, behavior and care. Trina has been advising folks from all over the world on the proper care of guinea pigs. Trina's personal mission has always been for safety and love of the piggies....as well as happiness for the new owners.

important information.
The PigPals program is a long-term email-based relationship, where novice owners will receive one-on-one advice and help with their guinea pig(s). This is NOT a Secret Pal/Secret Friend program. This is also not a place to get one or two questions answered. This is a true mentoring relationship, and participants must commit to a long-term communication with their mentors or beginners.

How long you are PigPals is up to you. Mentors and beginners can always contact Trina should any problems arise. Mentors can be a PigPal to more than one person, and former beginners can apply to become a Mentor once they have met the minimum requirements to become a Mentor.

Of course, we are very aware of privacy issues surrounding Internet and email-based correspondence, so the only information provided to matched mentors and beginners are FIRST NAMES and email addresses. The information requested in the forms is for matching purposes only. Note that participants' ages are required upon signing up for PigPals, and this information will be shared. We have had too many participants talking at an adult level which children could not adequately understand.

joining PigPals: some simple rules.
We ask questions that will help us best pair up mentors and beginners (similar piggy interests, etc.) We request ages and locations so that PigPals will be evenly matched. Please do not fill out the forms just to ask a single question—for a quick answer to a question, please visit the Messageboard.

Once your form is reviewed, we will match you with a PigPal and send both of you a notification via email. Make sure that you write your correct email address on the form! PigPals are generally matched within 72 hours of receiving both applications. However, please allow 4-5 days for a response.

important note:
We have had several people lie about their age on the forms, or people who re-submit their forms several times. This slows down the process for everyone, and wastes many people's time and energies. Do not complain about the application process; it's here to help prevent misuse of the program. Things to consider before signing up:

Do not lie about your age or background.
Mentors MUST have experience in specific types of medical care, including UTIs and lice/mites. Experience means that you have actually had to deal with it - reading a book is not enough. We are very strict about this point because we must ensure that information being taught is consistent with agreed-upon guidelines in the general guinea pig community.
Be prepared for a long-term relationship; if you simply need a few questions answered, visit the CavyMadness or GuineaLynx messageboards.
Take PigPals seriously. This program is specifically designed for people who want a Mentor who can teach them about guinea pig care. It is not a Secret Gift program, nor is it a discussion group. PigPals is not meant to teach breeding; it is a pet-only program that is meant to teach general care and culture of guinea pig ownership.

Mentors must have several years of "pigsperience" in many aspects of guinea pig care. Mentors must be over 18 years of age, and willing to share knowledge with others. Minimum 2 years of actual experience required. If your experience with medical conditions is limited to what you have read in books, please do not apply. We need people who have dealt with UTIs, respiratory illness, lice or mites, etc. Only then can you help a beginner who is going through the same thing.

As a mentor, you will be paired with a beginner who needs help learning the basics of guinea pig care. All mentors must be prepared for a long-term correspondence, usually at least one year. Mentors who are willing to have more than one beginner will score loads of brownie points. :)

On the form, you will be asked specifics about your guinea pig experience, and will be required to provide a reference who can confirm your experience.

fill out the mentor form

You know they're cute, and you are anywhere from the "what do I do now?" stage to simply wanting to become a better companion to your piggy.

important note for our younger beginners:
Those who are 13 years old and younger must have consent from a parent or guardian before they can join PigPals. The form will ask for a parent/guardian name and email, and we will follow up with this person to get permission for the child to join PigPals.

Children 13 and younger will only be paired up with Trina, or one of a very select few mentors who have been thoroughly screened. We also encourage parents to participate in PigPals along with their children, since guinea pig care is often shared by parents as well as children.

fill out the beginner form

CavyCare, Inc.
4343 South Jasper Street
Aurora Colorado 80015-4630
Phone: 303-693-4630
Fax: 303-593-2195

Email:
CavyCareInc@yahoo.com

www.cavycareinc.org

CavyMadness is pleased to introduce you to CavyCare, Inc., the Colorado shelter where Trina volunteers her time and effort.

Established in 1998, CCI was created because guinea pigs at area shelters were not being adopted, but euthanized. Most people look to a pet store to buy their first guinea pig, never thinking of the numbers of them waiting in area shelters. These shelter guinea pigs were never finding their way out and into new homes. CCI was created to change all that. And helping one guinea pig at a time, CCI has helped over 1,100 guinea pigs in the last four years. WOW!

CCI is the largest guinea pig shelter, averaging between 70 and 150 guinea pigs at anyone time. CCI has had as many as 325 at one time. CCI is licensed by the State of Colorado and is a federally recognized 501c3 charity. CCI is a member of Colorado Federation of Animal Welfare Agencies and Colorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

CavyMadness will not share your contact information with other guinea pig organizations;
we use the forms solely for matching up compatible PigPals, and only give out
your name and email address when matching up PigPals.

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