Today

Actually got a few things accomplished today.

Started out the day by having some people come over to look at the chins.  They ended up adopting Moch and Mycha (yay!) and getting all supplies and everything they needed.  Very nice people.  Picture coming later.

So then, last night, I got an email from someone who has one of our chins that can no longer keep the chin and will be returning the chin to us.  Well, Meredith will be driving down to Greenwood and getting the chin for us.  So, that's all good.  I got an email today from the adoptive home letting me know that she's going to be picked up Sunday, and asking if we would be keeping the chin as a pet/breeder or adopting out the chin.  Now, hate to say it, but.... if the chin was sold... likely I didn't think it was going to work in our breeding program.  But, regardless, I told them that if the chin looks like a decent chin, we could show her and if she turned out good, we might keep her as a breeder.  Note, might.  But I said we wouldn't keep her as a pet cause we already have so many pets and really don't have room for anymore.  So... I get an email back saying that they would really like for me to keep her because they trust me.  Really?  I looked up the chin they have, and the mom is Joker.  Not to knock Joker, but some of her kits have definitely not been show quality.  Typically, when she's had colored kits, they are show quality, but the standards coming from her have been either red tinted or just lacking in density.  But the colors are fine, go figure.  Well anyway, so in looking at that, it'd be very unlikely that we'd keep her, but I reiterated that if she looks show quality, she may be kept, but I just can't add any more pets.  Wanted to end that sentence with "especially not animals that people are trying to guilt-trip me into keeping as pets." 

Sorry, I know you love your chin, but just cause you want me to keep your pet doesn't mean I want to.  Guilt tripping me will not help, cause considering I've been adopting out my OWN pets, cause I think they'd do better in another home.... not much luck giving me a chin that I just can't live without to keep.... and this isn't stopping.  As I am typing this, I got another email:

Well, Keisa will be coming with a cage and a ton of other stuff we got her over time, so you'd only need table space. ;) 

And my response:

Unfortunately, that's beside the point.  The space taken by her cage could be used for a cage that would hold rescues.  I don't have endless tables to put these cages on, just what I have, and usually those are all full of cages holding rescues. 
 
As for her being kept here, in all honesty, if I thought she was show quality, I probably would have kept her in the first place, and as I didn't, she will likely be adopted out.  I understand your concern, but I have been very happy with the homes our chins have gone to - we've only had a handful of chins returned in 9 years, so it's not common.  Usually, we have homes that are just nuts about chins and think they're the greatest and spoil them to death.  


And, it's usually one or two-chin homes.  The thing with the rescue is that when I have a ton of chins here, each chin gets a lot less attention than it would in a home with one or two chins.  Part of the reason I've adopted out some of my own pets is because I realize they'd get a lot more attention elsewhere.  Currently, the rescue is just about full.  We have 22 chins (some are ours), 3 guinea pigs, the prairie dog, 4 rabbits, and 8 rats.  That's 38 animals.  With more coming in a few days.  I can't say each animal gets individualized attention every day the way they would if they were in a home that didn't have quite as many critters.  Sure, they get attention maybe every other day and they get spoiled and all, but it's not the type of attention they'd get in a one-chin home.  Unfortunately, I can't spend hours with each chin even if I wanted to.  That's why I've been only keeping the pets that I can't live without (which, at the moment, are only 2 chins as pets - my 1st and 3rd chin), cause I don't think it's fair to the others to keep them here when I'm so busy socializing rescues. 

When she gets here, I could try to pair her up with another female and see how that goes.  They could get adopted out together and then they'd have a playmate and a new family.  

And I mean all of that.  I actually almost feel bad for the few pets and breeders I have, because I don't have as much time for them.  When I have a million rescues, they need to be played with and held and all, and guess who doesn't get held and played with?  Oh yeah, my own pets.  That's why, like I said, the only chins we have as "our own" are Winx and Toby right now, the rest are breeders.  We have our pet prairie dog (was a rescue, but we love him and he's staying), we have a rescue pac man frog (upstairs - that's why no one's ever seen Rex), and we currently have two special needs chins that are likely going to be sanctuary chins that will live out their lives here.  But I don't want to add any more to that number cause I want to still be able to give the chins all attention and all.  I don't want to be unfair to the ones we get, or to rescues coming in.  But at the same time, I can't keep a chin just cause someone wants me to.  I mean, it's not even fair to Winx and Toby that I hang onto them, but they really are my babies and are spoiled beyond belief, so they aren't going nowhere.

Other than that... got an email back from the guy who's adopted several of our rats.  Last time when he came here to pick up his hidey house, he and his wife were looking at Buddy and Juno (more rats).  He emailed me a bit ago (maybe a week or two) asking for pictures, and I sent them, but never heard back.  Well today he emailed asking if we still had em and if he could come over and look at em.  We definitely still have them, they're not done with their eval. yet.  So he's not available yet to come, out camping, but he will email when he is.  So for now those two are on hold.  And I sent him more pics that I took yesterday in anticipation of putting more critters up on the site.

On that note, I got all the rabbits listed on the website last night.  Very happy bout that. 

Had someone email today about Moch and Mycha... told them the were already adopted, but that we have many other chins that will soon be done with their eval's and be ready to be adopted.  So we will see how that goes. 

Cleaned out all the runs today.  Also cleaned out Moch and Mycha's cage (after they were adopted) and put Frederico and Georgie in that cage. 

I need to take down some papertowels cause I started cleaning one of the other FN's to put the new stuff in, but I need papertowels and I need to wipe everything down and get it ready....

What else did I do... hmmm... it seems like I did a lot more than this stuff I wrote here, but it takes a long time to clean out the big QC and all of the runs.  Going back down there in a bit, maybe I'll get something else done.