Fosters Taking Pictures

So, sort of piggybacking off the last blog post, I wanted to talk a little bit about fosters taking pictures.

I suppose my example isn't going to actually be of a foster, per se, but bear with me here.

We had a chin come back to the rescue the other day, some of you may remember MJ, the adult beige female.  She wasn't gone for long... she was adopted as a companion for the person's other chinchilla, and that worked out at first, but as time went on, the original chin was more and more stressed out by MJ, even with MJ just being in the room... so the owner made the tough decision to bring her back. 

Anyway, the reason I mention this... I told her, if she had any insights on MJs personality or pics or anything she'd like to share, that I could use for rehoming, I'd love to see them, as often they can be so much more personal when someone else takes them (while I don't mind taking pictures... it's one of 1000 things on my to-do list, so time constraints make a difference in the awww-factor of the pictures).  So I wanted to share with you her pictures...

Now, I can't find my pics of MJ, so I don't have anything to use by comparison, but tell you don't look at those pics and go awwwww.  This is what I mean when I say that fosters can get more personal pics.  While I do think it's important to have pics that show the chin's color and full body and all that (which there are pics in here like that, I do realize that), I think it's also important to have the cutesy pics like the chin sleeping or sitting on someone's head or shoulder or whatnot.  To me, it makes the chin look more loved and more adoptable, to see those sleeping moments (for example) in the pics.  These type of pics are what I love to get from the fosters!  They don't have to be some magical photographical masterpieces, they just need to be nice clear shots of the chins.  That's all.  Anything to help them get adopted!

Busy weekend!

You may have heard, it was a busy weekend! 

We got several chins adopted out, 3 LARGE cages sold (more room!), and our senior pair of chins out at a foster home.  Yaaaay!!!

Now the fun begins.  Late fall (read: now) is always busy... but of course, that hinges on actually having chins listed and pictures taken and all that.  As you may have seen on my personal facebook (many of you are my facebook friends), I somehow managed to shatter my laptop screen, and I'm now working on a new one.  Yay and ick at the same time... because while I was able to transfer everything over via HDMI cable (thanks Dahlene & Don for the tip!)... all my bookmarks and all that are still on there, and I'm going to literally have to plug the laptop back into the tv, write those down, and manually transfer.  Not a big deal, but I'm used to opening my bookmark folder entitled "classified sites," clicking "open all," and being done with it.  So, that's step 1.  That gets done first.

Then the listing of the chins comes.  That's what going to happen this week.  Ever wanted a chin?  I have oodles of them.  They have been moving and finding homes, but a lot of them are currently listed only on my website, and I need to get all the chins listed as many places as possible, to get the word out, to get them homes, so more of them can come in.  I have a few more fosters lined up... one's waiting for their chin to be off medication and then they're going to take in a foster, and someone else is coming in a few days to talk with me and see the chins and all that, and decide if they want to foster.  If you want to foster too, let me know!  All food / dust / hay / etc provided (you do have to come pick it up from the rescue), you just provide the care (pictures and info sent to me are super useful as well!).

Suppose I'll make another post regarding the fosters and pics and whatnot, so this one isn't super long.

But anyway... chins will be listed shortly, we will also have our usual November sale, so watch for that as well.  Geckos will be on sale as well.  We will have baby guinea pigs listed shortly (if interested, just let me know).  If anyone wants to give a retirement home to a quad of adult male rats, they're all like 2+ years, they're just chilling here, but could use a nice retirement home.  More posts to follow in the next few days... 

Size of Toys

Wanted to do a quick post and share something with you.  We've heard quite a few comments over the years about how our toys are good sized for the prices, and we do try to make them worth the cost, because I know how much it costs to care for a chinchilla (or 200)... but I'm not sure people even realize what size the toys are. 

On all the toy listings, it actually does say the size.  The anything goes and anything goes colored toys are 6", the muncher's delights are 7"... the anything goes plus and ring of pumice are 14" circles... and so on.  But sometimes I think those numbers aren't all that helpful.  I know when I'm making the toys, I always make the first one and then measure it, to make sure it's the right side, adjust up or down if needed, and then keep that one out as a guideline.  Of course, I'd rather the toy be on the large size, I don't want to gyp anyone!  But I'm even amazed sometimes when I make a toy and measure it and it's 2" bigger than it needs to be!  Guess I'm not that good at eyeballing measurements.

Anyway... lots of rambling to lead to a pic.  A happy chin-customer submitted this and said we could use it (it's also a second pic on our halloween toy in the webstore listing now), as it shows the size of the toy next to a young-adult chin.  He likes it! 

Hays

Useful info for you today on hays... someone asked about this, and I figured this would be good info for all.  The person was asking about buying bales of hay, which any of you could potentially do, for your chins or other small pets.  They were asking about different types of hays and what might be in them. So, here goes. 

As far as the type of hay, you don't want any hay with clover, as in hays (as opposed to like, buying dried clover -- the type used for tea -- as a treat), the clover that would be in hay usually isn't dried out well (just because of the way hay, itself, is dried out) and without being cured properly, can cause stomach upset and runny poos. 

You also want to check what the hay is primarily made up of.  It'd be rare to have a mix that is literally 1/8 this, 1/8 that, and so on.  Most horse hays (which you want -- no cow hays!) are alfalfa based, as the horses can handle the richer, higher protein.... chinchillas cannot.  Runny squishy poos again.  They can have SOME alfalfa, but it can't be a bale of mostly alfalfa with some other stuff mixed in (which is typically what we have around here).  Organic hay (or not) doesn't really matter... I can't imagine it makes much of a difference in the actual hay... other than upping the price. 

If you can find bales that are primarily grass hay mixes (which alfalfa is not, just fyi), they'd tend to be timothy / orchard grass / rye / fescue / brome / meadow hay... that sort of thing... that would be fine to feed.  Ideally you want a hay that is primarily timothy with other hays mixed in, though any grass hay mix should be fine.

For the cuttings, 1st is super stalky, so a lot of chins won't be as fond of eating that... they pick through and find the softer pieces.  2nd is softer and more of a mix of leafy and stalky, that's what we feed (if at all possible).  Third cutting (at least here) isn't available unless we want to ship it in, as the growing season isn't that long, and most places need to irrigate the fields to get a 3rd cutting (also not really done around here).  It's super leafy (read: soft) and the chins LOVE it.  However... because it's so leafy, it practically does nothing to wear down the teeth.  Occasionally I'll buy like a 10 pound box of third cutting from small pet select and use it here and there as a treat, but I wouldn't use it as a primary hay, because it sort of defeats the purpose because it's so soft (though I can see why they like it!).

Also worth noting, you don't want to store bales of hay on the floor -- you need to store them "up" somehow... we put ours on two 2 x 4's (think like train tracks)... this allows the air to go around and under the bales, and keeps moisture from building up and spoiling the hay.  You don't want moldy / mildew-y hay, so no storage in plastic containers or garbage cans with the lid on.

Cleaning!

I've had people ask about various aspects of cleaning their chins' (or other small animals') cage, or food bowl, or so on... and I just wrote an email to someone the other day detailing some hints, so I wanted to share with all of you.

For most of my items (food bowls, water bottles, etc), I just use plain old dish soap and water.  If it fits in the sink, it gets washed with a regular old scrubbie and soap and water.  If it doesn't, it gets hosed outside with soap and water.

But what about when there's a film on something, or something that you want a little stronger cleaner for?  I use simple green.  If you don't know what that is, it's a non-bleach type general purpose cleaner that is non-toxic and biodegradable.  You can find it just about anywhere, but Walmart does sell it as well...

...and I use it for EVERYTHING.  If you've ever been around me when I'm cleaning, you'll notice I rarely use any type of bleach cleaner, and I can't stand the smell of lysol, it actually will make me gag.  Simple green has a clean, simple (non-overpowering) smell, and doesn't bother me the way these other cleaners do.  So, I use it for my kitchen counters, stove, tile floor spills, etc... multipurpose!  About the only thing I have a different cleaner for (in the upstairs) is my wood surfaces, and of course, for some things I do use a bleach cleaner.  But for the average things that need to be wiped own with a little more than soap or water, this is what I use.

For the caked on grime that seems to be in the favorite-peeing-corners of the cage, I also use white vinegar.  Take this pan for example...  It doesn't look all that bad, but you can see the white build up in the corners and somewhat on the bottom, and the entire lackluster look.

Then add water, splash in some white vinegar... let it sit for maybe 10-15 minutes.  I come back, scrub those problem areas, let it sit some more... then scrub some more and rinse.  Usually after the second scrubbing (unless you REALLY have some caked on gunk), it's good to go.  And here is the finished / cleaned pan...

Tell me that doesn't look practically brand new.  It shines!

Now, for a double dose of cleaning power, I use both all at once.  I always buy the economy size ($5.96 -- https://www.walmart.com/ip/Simple-Green-All-Purpose-Cleaner-Refill/22301217 -- 2 liters) or the gallon size ($12.99 -- https://www.walmart.com/ip/Simple-Green-All-Purpose-Cleaner-Concentrate-1-Gal/23569739 -- 1 gallon) and a cheap spray bottle.  I fill the spray bottle about 1/8 with the simple green concentrate, 1/8 with white vinegar, and the rest with water.  Shake it up a bit (but watch, it foams up!), and you're good to go!  Now, when you spray it on something, it cleans even better!

About the only things I use bleach type cleaners like chlorox clean up on, are if I actually need to completely sterilize something.  I do this for the metal J-feeders and the metal dust boxes on my holding cage.  This is done every time they are washed, to ensure that these items are sterilized for the new chins.  The feeders and dusters are washed normally and set aside.  Then they are lined up in the sink and sprayed down with chlorox clean up.  They sit for 15 minutes with the bleach solution on them, and then after that time, they get rinsed off well, and set off to the side to dry. 

Hope this helps some of you!

"Blank" Adoption Forms

Well, they're not blank, but they might as well be.  If I'm talking about you, I really don't apologize, because you put in absolutely no effort.  I don't know if they're meant to be a joke or if they're really from people who couldn't take 5 minutes to research, but I got this one form this morning (one of many, over the past several years), and I mean... well, let me copy and paste some of the relevant parts:

Are you aware that veterinary costs for exotics / chinchillas is usually costly? : No
What type / brand of hay do you plan to feed? : Unsure
What brand of pellets do you plan to feed? : Unsure
What type of dust do you plan to use? : Unsure
What type of bedding do you plan to use? : Unsure
Name some safe chew toys or safe items to chew on: : We will plan a trip to the pet store 
What type of cage do you have? : None, yet
How large is the cage (dimensions)? : N/A
What type of shelving does the cage have? : N/A
Have you read our Chinchilla Care Packet (on the website, the Chinchilla Care Info page)? : not yet
How many times a week should treats be given? : unsure

Now.... while I acknowledge that I always tell people, I'm happy to help, I no longer will regurgitate the entire care packet in an email for you.  It is online on the website, you are welcome to read it, or I can even email it to you... and adoption policies say that it should be read.  If someone used to send an email with questions on, "what do they eat?" "What type of cage is best?" "Is plastic ok?" "Should I feed veggies?" "What is the dust for?" "what pellets are best?" "What temperatures should they be kept in?  Do they need heat lamps?" -- I actually used to answer all the questions, EVEN THOUGH that person had stated they read the care packet, and even though every single question they asked was thoroughly covered in the care packet (ok, maybe not the heat lamps part... but when you read, "keep them under 74 degrees," it should be self-explanatory).  Anyway... I used to regurgitate the care packet, and then I realized... especially considering about half of the people who contact me never adopt anyway (which is pretty typical of rescue adoptions, not just here, but in most rescues I talk with), it's not worth the time it takes to re-write all the answers out in an email... when I wrote the care packet.  So now, I refer those people to the care packet, and since they already said they read it, suggest that maybe they missed that section (or, well, the entire thing) and should check it out, and let me know if they have any other questions.  If it was one question, I will answer it... but it's usually regurgitating half+ the care packet.  So, there's that issue, of time and effort.

There's also the issue of... well, think about it.  Those specific questions -- what food are you going to feed?  What hay?  What dust?  What type of cage do you have?  How big is it and what type of shelving?  How often should treats be given?  What bedding will you use?  Those are the ULTIMATE questions.  I sure HOPE everyone can fill out the top of the form which is name and address, but THESE questions are the ones that ACTUALLY let me know if these people have ANY IDEA how to care for a chinchilla.  There's a big difference between Kaytee Fiesta and Oxbow.  There's a big difference between treats 1x week and treats 10x day.  There's a big difference between a 10g aquarium and a 2x2x4 cage.  There's a big difference between pine bedding and cedar bedding.  These questions are IMPORTANT. 

So I'm sorry if I seem upset when I get adoption forms like this, but honestly, sometimes I think I shouldn't even email these people back, but that I should rather just assume, with the lack of effort they've already shown me, that I should just deny the adoption.  However, I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt (though WHY anyone would fill out an adoption form that is, in effect, blank, makes NO sense to me), so I email them back, suggest reading the care packet (which this one didn't) and ask that they get back to me with their answers.  Now... let me share with you... 90% chance I will never hear back, so it won't make a difference.  But... I am not here to be your mother.  You want a pet, and all the information is out there for you, ON MY OWN WEBSITE NO LESS (if you can't find it there, when you're looking at chinchillas there... don't even tell me you didn't know where to look), I don't feel bad asking you to re-read the care packet (or read it for the first time, in this case). 

Heck, I've even thought about taking down the care packet before (I won't, but listen to my reasoning...), because it might as well be a cheat sheet -- people may know nothing and go question by question, search for the answer in the care packet, and fill in the blank.  They may actually learn nothing, other than how to search for relevant terms.... and still not know how to care for a chinchilla at the end of the day.... so to not have it up there, and ask people to fill out the adoption form, I'd see what they actually know.  But, I leave it there because I want the correct care info out there and maybe someone will learn.  But I will not babysit.  Make an effort, people. 

Facebook Page

Sometimes you guys all make me laugh.  On the facebook page, people continually suggest that I add hours for the rescue... which as you all know, is by appointment only, so that's why I never do.  I feel like they should add an option, such as... "by appointment," but as there isn't such an option, I will not have hours, so no one shows up, and then is disappointed if I'm not here.

Well, anyway, I get notifications when people suggest changes to the facebook page, and I had a few people who had wanted the price range changed from "$$" to "$."  It actually shows, like "3 people suggested this change."  I thought, what the hell, the toys and that sort of stuff is cheap (and price depends on what item you're looking at... even at walmart, the pack of gum is cheap, the oversized barbecue grill is not), so I changed it.

Wake up today, now a few people want it changed from "$" to "$$."  

Sounds about right.

Foster Locations!

So... I bet if I went back and re-read my post about fosters, it probably says something about, you don't have to be super close to foster a chinchilla...

... because I got this message:

If we are in Texas will you still send us chinchillas to foster

Hahahaha, no.  Can always use more fosters, but they need to be reasonably close, to ensure the people can get their supplies and that potential adopters can actually get to them.  Most people looking at the NWI Chins website aren't in Texas, so they might be fostering for a loooooong time.

So, just to clarify... maybe 3-4 hours max (and even that might be a little far) for the distance foster homes can be away from the rescue.  That is all for today.  Have a nice night! 

Deposits -- Why They Exist

So, I want to share a little story with you, about the usefulness of deposits.

Someone called awhile back, and we set an appointment for a few weeks out.  They'd talked about possibly wanting to adopt this one chin, but then when I asked if they wanted to put down a deposit (and informed them, of course, about needing to be 100% sure before they put down the deposit), they said no they weren't that sure, they'd take their chances.

Fast forward to about 4 days before their scheduled appointment -- the chin they were asking about gets adopted by someone else.  The following morning, I receive an adoption form from the phone call person, and in the section where it asks, which chin are they interested in, they put down the chin we talked about.

I don't want them to arrive at the appointment and not be aware that the chinchilla is no longer here, so I send them a quick email, to let them know that their application looks good, and more importantly, that that specific chinchilla is no longer here, though that we do have other similar ones that they might be interested in.

The email I got back started with, "I really thought we would be bringing home [chinchilla] tomorrow." 

This is one of those difficult situations -- some people, heck, a LOT of people, NEVER get back to me.  They say, oh they're interested in a chin, they'll call right back!  Never hear from them again.  And often, in the meantime, I've passed up an adoption for that chinchilla, and then, when the person doesn't call back... the chinchilla is still here, un-adopted.  While I don't want to be mean about it and not hold a chinchilla for someone, unfortunately, sometimes the chinchillas being on hold means that they miss out on a good home (when their adoption falls through).  This is why we have the deposits.  For holding chinchillas more than a few days, we ask for a half-down deposit, and this holds the chin for 14 days, during which it needs to be picked up.  Now, deposits are non-transferable and non-refundable, because it is holding that specific chin for someone, and prevents anyone else from adopting it.  So, while I can understand why people might sometimes hesitate to put down a deposit if they're not 100% sure they want to take that specific chin home, I also sometimes have to remind myself that I cannot do anything about it, when someone decides to not put down a deposit, and then the chin ends up adopted by someone else.  That is their decision to put down a deposit, or not.  Just like choosing to wait for a Halloween item to be clearanced towards the end of the month at Walmart... you can wait, and eventually it will go clearance... but if it sells before that, they won't get more in, and you'll miss your chance at buying it. 

Importance of Communication

So, this happened and I wanted to share it with you, because it is a perfect example of why communication is such a good, useful thing.

One of my usual customers, who stops by every few months for toys, treats, etc, texted me with a list of the stuff they wanted, a few weeks in advance.  We have agreed that this is the best way to go about this, as otherwise, they come here and pretty much clear me out (which is fine... but not so good for the next appointments).  So, we agreed on the pickup day, and that day came sooner than I hoped, and the night before, I was downstairs until 2 am, working on their last few toys (cause honestly, we are talking... 6 of this one, 8 of this one... and so on).  Finally got them done.

I had another person coming for an order a little earlier than them, and I decided to wait on getting the remainder of their stuff ready, since it was already 2 am, and I figured I would get up early in the morning and work on it then. 

Morning comes (well, later morning), and I get up and continue to work on the order for the first person.  I'm not done by the time they get there, but no biggie, we intro their chin to one of ours while I complete the order.  Everything gets done, and they leave with their new chin buddy and supplies.

Meanwhile... the other person, with the huge order that I stayed up until 2 am working on... as of an hour after the time the were supposed to arrive, had not texted / called / emailed / anything, to let me know that they were or were not coming.  I even texted them about 15 minutes after their scheduled appointment, to ask if they were still coming.... nothing.

I don't know if they forgot, or if something came up.  But let's just say, for sake of argument, that something came up and they need to reschedule (which is the most common).... if they had told me, I would not have stayed up all night working on their toys, as I could have done that, well, anytime!  During the day, I mean.  Just asking for a little consideration, because I lost sleep (and if you know me, you know how much I love my sleep) to get this order done... and the person isn't here to get it.  If they'd just said, hey they could pick it up next week (said this, the night before), yeah I would have had most of it done, but I could have slowly finished the rest and not rushed, and for sure, not stayed up late at night.  But with no communication... well, here we are. 

Emails!

Some of you have noticed that I'm actually responding to your emails a bit quicker now!  Let me tell you why...

So, if you didn't know, I have a law degree and a license to practice law in Indiana (and here I am, raising and rescuing chinchillas...), but I still keep up the law license, just in case.  So, that requires going to these boring-as-hell educational seminars several times a year, called CLE's (continuing legal education).

I go to the recorded replays of the sessions out in Valpo.  Normally, this would cost a few hundred per session, but my dad knows someone who knows someone, so we get to "moderate" these sessions... which involves all of switching dvd's (sometimes), but mainly just signing people in.  And if the power goes out or something weird happens, we get to call tech support... but get the session for free. 

How does this relate to my chinchilla emails, you might be asking yourself?

If you've ever had the joy of sitting through one of these CLE's, you'd know that even in the LIVE ones (as in, with a live speaker in front of you), people bring work, or books, or something else to do.  I'm not sure I'd be that bold for a live session, but mind you, I go to the recorded sessions that are just replays... so I bring my computer, log onto the university's wifi, and get to work. 

So, last Friday, I spent a whopping 6 hours of CLE time... answering emails.  Yes, they really do get that far behind.  Partially, because there really is that many of them.  I get a whopping ridiculous amount of junk mail... but I also probably get at least 20-30 emails, per day, that are legit emails that need an answer.  And it's rarely a few word answer, or a short email... I have one that could easily span 2 pages (if printed out) about when they can come, and what their schedule is like, and this and that... and I will read that and respond to that... Well, that email, alone, may take 30-45 minutes to respond to, especially if there's a lot of questions for me in there (as opposed to just info for me to use to answer back to).... and at least half the emails per day are like that. 

Occasionally I'll get an email asking where someone is on the waiting list, and that's pretty quick to answer, because I can look at the list and then email them back.  Simple enough.  Sometimes the emails require more work before I can email back -- for example, I posted about foster homes the other day and two people have since emailed wanting to foster (yay!), but before I emailed them back, I wanted to have my foster contract ready, as I haven't updated it in ages.  So, I saw those emails, and went to work on the foster contract... an hour later, I still haven't answered the emails, but the foster contract is where I'd like it to be.

So, all this said... after spending 6 hours on emails, I now only have maybe 20 in my inbox, which is reasonable for me.... so now just to keep up with it!

Court-Ordered Community Service

Some of you may have known that we had a court-ordered kid here for community service a few weeks ago.  Nice kid, he was an accomplice to something that went on, and he was here for... 4 (?) days.  We got a lot done while he was here.  He washed things, cleaned cages, made toys, and so on.  Very nice kid.

So then we got another one.  Someone called and said they had until the end of the month to get 25 hours done.  This was... on the 21st.  I told them, based on my schedule, they'd need to start on Monday (25th) and work most days from then until Saturday (as Sunday begins October).  Told the kid, he would have to work 4-5 hours a day, to get the 25 hours in.  He said ok, and so we agreed that he would show up on Monday, after school, so, 3:30. 

He shows up, works pretty well actually, does things pretty fast, nice kid.   I asked him what time his parents were coming to get him, and he said he didn't know, but that his mom would text him when she was coming to get him.  It seemed like he wasn't there for very long when he told me that his mom was here for him... it was 6 pm, so he'd been here 2.5 hours.  I asked him if he could come back tomorrow (more to reiterate than anything, since he had to be here all days to get enough hours in) and he said yes.  I asked if he wanted me to keep his paperwork (there's papers that I have to fill out, and he would turn in at the end) and give it back at the end, and he said yes.  So we said our see-you-tomorrow's, and he left.

Fast forward to Tuesday.  3:30 came and went.  I thought maybe he was running late, but the entire night passed and he never did show up.

Now, in all fairness, it may not have anything to do with him, specifically.  It could be that he couldn't get a ride, or the car broke down, or mom's sick, or whatever... but I never did hear from him again.  If nothing else, I partially expected to hear from him again because he did work the 2.5 hours, and I would have signed off that he did work those hours... but so far I haven't heard anything from the kid.

In case you're wondering why I didn't call him -- when he initially called, he said he was calling from a parent's office phone, and that he'd give me another contact number for him when I saw him.  Well... I never did get that number, and I didn't save the work number (and I get such a ridiculous number of calls per day, that there's no way to go back in time and find that number).  

Well... I imagine he won't be getting his hours in, during the required time.

Though, in case you didn't know, if your teen needs community service hours for their court-ordered community service, they can do them at the rescue.  We've also had adults that need community service hours do them here, so if you don't want to go volunteer at a nursing home or whatever, this is an option for you!  

Volunteers!

Have you been one of the people who've volunteered lately?  If you have, thanks!  We appreciate it!  

I wanted to share a few of the things our volunteers have done lately, as often people think that it's just cleaning cages and cleaning more cages.  They have done:

• cleaning cages (well, you know)
• feeding the critters
• haying the critters
• watering the critters
• filling and refilling our water filter
• weighing the critters
• dyeing loofah for toys
• sanding wood blocks for toys
• drilling and re-sanding wood blocks for toys
• assembling toys
• cleaning / organizing wood shop
• helping pack up orders
• washing food bowls / water bottles

Does this sound like fun to you?  Well, ok, maybe even if it doesn't, this is stuff that is done, some daily, some weekly, to keep the rescue running!  Want to help?  Let us know!  

Chinchilla-Shaped CuddleBuddies & Heart / Flower Hammocks

So, only like one person has seen these so far, and I totally don't have a picture (sorry), but we will soon have some chinchilla-shaped cuddlebuddies available!  Our hammock person has been working on sewing these out of some of our scrap fabric, so watch out for these!

We are also working on more of the heart-shaped-hammocks.  Maybe you didn't see them, but they were super popular and sold super quick.... not sure if they ever made the website, they may have all sold in person at the rescue and at the expos.  But they will be back soon.  My hammock person sends me pics, and so I want to share some of them with you.

And the flowers hammocks...

...so watch the webstore, as these will eventually be coming around!

Foster Homes / Foster Failures

We're always looking for foster homes!  We provide the chinchilla / cage / supplies, and you provide the love, care, and cleaning!

We've had a lot of people asking about this lately, so, here's what this involves....

What do we provide?

• Cage
• Pellets / hay
• Chew toys
• Bedding
• Treats
• Dust / dust pan
• Food bowl
• Water bottle
• Hammock

What do you provide?

• Weekly cage cleaning
• Feeding / watering
• Making sure chinchilla has sufficient chew toys / replacements
• Handling / socialization
• TLC

How long do you provide the above supplies?  During the time you are fostering the chinchilla, we continue to provide supplies.  However, we will not ship or deliver these supplies, so we recommend that when you come to pick up your chinchilla and supplies for fostering, you have enough for awhile.

What if I don't have a cage?   If you do not have your own cage for fostering a chinchilla, the cages we are lending out are guinea-pig-type cages.  Obviously, we'd like our adoptive homes to keep their chins in a bit more of a taller,  more exciting cage, but that's unfortunately not what's available to lend out.

How long will I foster?  As long as you want!  Preferably we ask that you foster for at least a few months, so that you don't take a chin to foster and return it the following week, but you can foster for any length of time.  If you take home a foster and decide it's not for you, you can bring it back to the rescue.  Ideally, we'd like people to foster until the chinchilla gets adopted, to prevent the chinchillas from being shuffled around from home to home.

Which chinchillas can I foster?  We are currently fostering out our adults and senior chinchillas.  If you are experienced in chinchillas, we would rather foster out chinchillas that are more difficult to adopt out.  If not, that's fine, we have plenty of adults / seniors that are looking for a nice foster home.  Adults are chinchillas that are 1+ years of age.  Sorry, but the younger chinchillas are adopted so quickly that they are not available for fostering.

What happens when my foster chinchilla gets adopted?  How does that work?  There are two options for adoption of a foster chinchilla.  The first option is that the foster home handles the adoption themselves, at their home (under the guidance of the rescue, of course).  The adoptive home would be approved by the rescue, and the foster home would simply handle the last few pieces of paperwork and handing over the chinchilla.  The second option is that the adoption would happen at the rescue, and the foster home would bring the chinchilla to the rescue, where the three parties (rescue, foster, and adopter) would meet, for the adoption to happen.  For the sake of scheduling, it is easier to schedule the first option, but we will work with everyone to make either option work, depending on what the foster home is comfortable with.

What if I want to adopt my foster chinchilla?  You can!  We've had several foster failures who can tell you that it does happen -- people do fall in love with their foster chinchilla!  If you decide you want to adopt, you will just need to fill out an adoption form for your chinchilla, get it approved, and then you can adopt! 

What paperwork do I need to sign?  When you come to pick up your foster chinchilla and supplies, you will sign a contract which states that you're fostering a chinchilla for the rescue, borrowing supplies, that you understand what this entails, and that you will return the chinchilla / supplies to the rescue if / when requested.  Nothing overly complicated!

If this all sounds good to you, let us know, and we'll get you on your way to fostering a chinchilla!  

Why Go To An Expo?

So, I thought I'd write about why you should go to an expo. 

Obviously, because I'm there, with my booth. 

But why else?  Well, there's all sorts of stuff to see, things to do, freebies... and more! 

There's vendors selling all sorts of dog treats and toys.  At the one dog bakery, this time they had a "loss of pet" t-shirt, so we had to buy one in memory of Taffy.  You can see it --> here

There's places selling all sorts of dog stuff!  There were booths with dog toys, dog clothes, dog bandanas, leashes, collars, dog bows... a little bit of everything!  The one booth had basically a little bit of everything.  I went around on the second day of the event, and got these three dog scarves and the pack of three mini tennis balls, for (guess how much this cost)...

...$2.50!  Who-hoo!  Everything was half-off for the second day.  This is sort of an extreme example, but things are good priced, regardless.

We also got some doggie beer (sort of like a sauce you can use with their wet food) and a few munchies for the poochies.

There's also all sorts of educational seminars.  At many (most) of these events, we present on chinchillas and their care.  Often, Jim Nesci presents on his reptiles, other groups present on their exotics.  At this latest event, there was a presentation on grooming animals, one on service animals and how they help their humans, one on training dogs... and so on!  If you show up at the Kane County Expo, there is usually Weiner Dog Races!  All sorts of fun stuff to see!

There's all sorts of adoptable animals.  Everything from dogs and cats, to guinea pigs and chinchillas, and I bet that if you ask these organizations, they have even more back at the rescue!  Right now, we have probably 20+ chinchillas, plus at least 6 guinea pigs (plus some new babies in!), a rabbit, and something like 17 crested geckos available... and probably a few more I'm forgetting.  Come adopt whatever tugs at your heartstrings!

And.... let's not forget the freebies!

Often booths give some good free stuff... from VCA, we got a cute little tote bag, frisbee, leash, cat toy (mouse on a stick), squeaky Kong tennis ball, foldable water pouch, and flea comb.

Plus the free samples.  I got a few free baggies of dog bisquits, but there's also dog food companies out there that are promoting their product, and will give you dog food (or cat food, if that's your thing) to try.  Nutrisource was at this one, as was Anamaet (sp?), as was a smaller independent company with a higher protein dog food.

And if you want human items, those are present as well!  You can buy all sorts of things.  At this last event, I purchased some magnesium-infused hand cream, and some odor eliminator sprays.  Some booths also have human items like dog-breed-shaped salt-and-pepper shakers, dog mugs, and more! 

You never know what you'll find at these events, so come out and check them out!  Kane County is November 11th & 12th at the Kane County Fairgrounds, and we want to see you there!

Chicago Pet Show - Libertyvile

So, we were at the Chicago Pet Show, Libertyville, this past weekend.  We had a great time, met some new people we hadn't before.  We presented on chinchillas and how you'd know if they are a good pet for you -- twice in fact -- and maybe you were one of the ones there, listening to the presentation and asking questions.  For both presentations we had awesome volunteers from Chicago Pet Show who helped us.  We had two girls each time, sorry to say I did not catch names, but they held one of the chins we brought (a standard grey male, Pippin) and walked around the bleachers in the seminar area so people could pet him and see him up close, while I talked about chins and their care.  The girls were all super helpful and nice, especially considering it's hard to hold a chin and talk, and (knowing me) not trip over the microphone cord.  On that note, I don't think they usually have cords at these events, pretty sure we had wireless mic's for some of them, as I don't remember having to worry about tripping over the cord in the past.

Anyway.  The first day of the expo was slow, if you were there, you probably talked with me if you passed by booth, as it was unusually slow, and most vendors were talking with quite a few people who walked by. The second day picked up, and thankfully was the better day.  We had one of our adopters, Carrie, stop by the show, and she handled the rescue booth for awhile, so I could take a break.  I got to walk around the expo, get my own freebies / goodies, and talk to some of the other vendors, so it was a nice break.  Carrie showed up right before my presentation on chin care on Sunday, and stayed about 2.5 hours.  She sold a ton of our rescue items and was helpful to people with questions, so yay, let's give it up for Carrie!

The expo was actually surprisingly busy even later into the day.  Sometimes at these expos, once it hits 2 pm on a Sunday, we sort of sit around and twiddle our thumbs for the next few hours, but this one was more hoppin til the end, and we sold some of our critter items late into the day.

Packed up, went home... back to cleaning cages and haying (Sunday night) and even had a chin surrender that night (one of our own chins coming back, since I know some of you are probably on our waiting list, wondering why you didn't get called).  Busy busy, but all in all, a fun weekend.  If you were there, you know it was an awesome expo.  If not, you should totally come check it out next year!

Listen, Please

One other thing I don't get...

People will call, and will say, "is this the humane society?" (or replace that with animal control, animal rescue, etc etc).  My response is, "this is NWI Chinchilla Rescue."

To which they respond... as if they totally did not hear what I said... with something completely unrelated, which I cannot help them with (and they would have likely known this, had they listened to my answer).

The lady today was looking to purchase a german shepherd.  People all the time are looking to surrender their dogs or cats.  People all the time are interested in adopting cats.  Others want to know if we picked up their stray dog today.

I've found it simpler, honestly, for most of these people... to just say, "no."  Do we have cats for adoption?  Sorry, no.  I used to go into more detail and explain, no, we don't take in cats or dogs, we only rescue small animals... but really, if they didn't listen to me the first time, when I said what rescue they had called... they don't care.

I guess I just think it would be great if people would listen to what is said.  The might think, oh a chinchilla rescue.  Small animal.  They probably don't do dogs or cats.  Now, I know a variety of rescues take in a variety of critters, like at the humane society, you might just see dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, etc.  But that's because it's... wait for it... a humane society.  If you notice, the smaller rescues specialize.  Border collie rescue -- only takes in border collies or border collie mixes.  Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Rescue -- only takes in cavalier king charles spanials or those mixes.  Rat rescue -- takes in rats, and maybe other smalls like mice, hamsters, etc (think on the smaller end of small animals).  Chinchilla rescue -- most take in only chinchillas.  We also take in guinea pigs, rabbits, and smaller small animals.  But you get the point.  So... you'd think, if they hear "chinchilla rescue" they wouldn't follow it up with... "so, can I bring in my pitbull to you guys??"  Sometimes I just have to laugh.

Applying to Adopt... at like 10 Places

So, I hate to come back from not posting for awhile with a complaint, but this one has happened multiple times recently and I guess I just don't get it.

Someone will put in an adoption form for an animal.  In all these cases, I've gotten back to them within a day or two (which I think is reasonable).  When I do get back to them, they respond with, "oh, we adopted an animal elsewhere."

Now, I say anything else, yay for that animal that found a home... but... from a rescue perspective... it's a time waster.  I'm perfectly fine with someone who, up-front, says that they're unsure they want a chinchilla / rabbit / guinea pig / whatever, because obviously, any potential adopter, at any time, can vanish and go elsewhere.  I realize that.  But for 95% of these times I'm thinking of, the person has gone to the effort to submit an adoption form, as well as an email that has told me about the adoption form with even more info about them and their family (which I can't help but think is copied and pasted to the various rescues / adoption agencies).... so they seem like a serious potential adopter.... well, until they say they've adopted elsewhere.

Reasons why this is frustrating:

1) Waste of time -- for a lot of people.  If there's me, and another adoption agency that received completed adoption forms... are there more?  How many adoption forms did they fill out / how many agencies did they contact, expressing interest in adopting?  For each one of those, someone had to take time out of their day to read the form, make notes for themselves on things that might be improved or that they have further questions on, write those in an email to the potential adopter... only to find, op! sorry, they adopted elsewhere.  If they filled out 5 adoption forms at different agencies and adopt only one, that wastes at least 4 people's time.  For the larger adoption agencies that are run by boards of directors, where the board has to agree on the adoption, they waste even more people's time.

2) Lack of commitment to a specific animal -- ok, I realize this isn't a dog where we can have a super specific description including how it will get along with everyone and all that.  But... if someone is applying for that many animals, do they even know what they want?  I've literally gotten emails, one after another, literally saying, "oh I'm interested in this one."  Next email, "oh this one too, tell me more about this one!"  Next email, "oh now that I looked at your entire website, I like these 6 too!"  To start with, this makes me think that they didn't even read the descriptions, but if they did... usually the ones they've picked are different enough in personality, that they seem to not have any idea what they want.  Of course, part of the job of a rescue is to help with that, but at the same time... people have to have some idea, for you to start from.  I'll ask, ok, would they prefer a baby or an adult?  Doesn't matter.  Ok, color?  Doesn't matter.  Gender?  Doesn't matter.  Well... I have 40 to pick from, so unless we want to start on one end and take them all out... it kinda does.  And honestly, while some people might say, "oh, let's do that!" most breeders / rescues / anyone will tell you, that is the most frustrating people ever.  I'm happy to pull out quite a few chins for someone, especially if they can tell me, hey, they're interested in a male chin under 1 year.  We can even pull out every male under 1 year.  But no joke, some people have no idea what they want and want to pull out every last chin, typically these people who do this sort of thing, and that gets old really quick.

3) You get your hopes up -- I swear on my life, this never happens on an adoption for a super adoptable animal.  You know which ones it happens on?  The seniors, the hard-to-adopt pairs, the ones with health issues.  So, basically, the ones where they have little-to-no chance of being adopted in the first place (you might be surprised, or not, to learn that seniors and animals with health issues have a better chance of dying in rescue / foster than they do of being adopted).  Until you get that email -- HOPE!  And then, after you've responded quickly and gotten back to them and tried to be uber friendly and nice, you get the email back that they've adopted another one.  Well... sorry, buddy, guess you'll be here another few months...  I feel like it's inconsiderate, to apply for multiple animals and see what pans out.  Yes, I have also heard the stories of rescues that never respond to adoption inquiries, but I feel like... give them a few days before you immediately assume that's the case!  Not all of us are just sitting here, twiddling our thumbs, playing with animals all day.  For me, I'm always working to catch up on paperwork, answer the emails, work at my other job, work on orders...and so on.  I do my absolute best to answer emails in a timely manner, but chances are, that is not 5 minutes after you send it (and this is true of just about all rescues).  We appreciate your patience as we get to you.

That is all.

Clear the Shelters

This would have been from last weekend, I think, but some of the local humane organizations had that "clear the shelters" program, and so we got a few calls, asking if we were participating.  I think this is important to talk about, so I finally got around to writing this.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure the people who called, even knew that they hadn't gotten a dog rescue.  A few asked where they'd reached, and I'd told them, and they then, asked if we were participating in the clear the shelters event, so maybe they did know... but some just called and asked.  And with the number of calls that I get for people asking me to take in their dog or cat, I'll assume a good portion of them had no idea they'd reached a chinchilla rescue.  Anyway.

In case you're not familiar with what this is, let me explain.  Some humane organizations -- notably humane societies, animal welfare groups, and animal control -- will participate in an event.  I believe it is once a year (maybe a couple times? don't quote me on this).  During this "clear the shelters" event, the adoption fees for the animals are waived.  The adopters still have to fill out the adoption form, and if they are approved, they get to adopt the pet for free.  The idea is to clear the animals out of the shelters, hence the name.

I remember this from when I lived in Indy and used to take Kailey to obedience classes at the Humane Society.  People would be posting on their facebook page, on the images of their available animals (after the event, but before they'd gotten a chance to change the available animals), how oh, this person REALLY wanted that dog, but darn, this other person got their first and beat them to it, and then a third person would chime in, about how they also really wanted the dog, but found out it'd already had an application put in on it, and someone else wanting to know if that one didn't work out.

Here's the thing.  No one wanted that dog two days prior.  But since it was, all of a sudden, FREE, everyone was beating down the door for it.  And this was the case with many of the animals.  Often, they really would "clear the shelter" and have mostly open kennels to bring in more dogs...

...like the exact same ones they adopted out, in a few weeks, when people who, in their impulsive decision to adopt since the fee was FREE, didn't really think this through.

We did not, and will not, participate in events such as this. You may notice, if you are trying to find places that are participating.... places such as breed-specific rescues, private rescues, and the like, just about never participate.

Here's why.  The places that do participate sometimes are often kill shelters, where if the dogs are not adopted out, they may be put down, due to lack of space or behavior issues.  So, it is in those shelters' best interests to get them out, even if they end up coming back, so they can euthanize less.  For them, a home is a good thing.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm NOT saying that there aren't some good adopters in this sort of event.  I'm sure some people adopt a dog for free, and have and spoil the dog until it dies peacefully in it's sleep of old age at 16 years old.  I'm sure.  However, what I'm also sure is, there's people who see "FREE ADOPTIONS!!!" and because the adoption process at these places is not always that difficult** go and adopt an animal, without putting much thought in.

**I looked up the adoption questionnaire at one of the local humane societies.  Name, age, address, how best to reach them.  It asks about kids ages, and what role the pet will play in the household (cuddler, mouser, guard dog, companion, etc).  The form asks what pets they have at home.  The form asks if they have any information they'd like to share.  Finally, there is also a section that allows the person to check off if they have any specific topics they'd like to discuss with an adoption counselor at adoption time, such as training, finding a groomer, etc.  The adoption process involves them filling out the form, and it being gone over with an adoption counselor, and if all goes well, they can adopt.

Now, again, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying my adoption form is difficult, in comparison or anything like this, but just that this one is relatively simple, and the average person could write their name, address, how to be reached.  They could write, no one else in the household.  No other pets.  They could indicate that they've had a dog before, so they don't have anything they'd like to discuss... and in theory, it could be filled out in about 2 minutes.  The reason I mention this, is because it's so quick to do, it makes me wonder how much thought is put in to all of this.

With my small animal adoption forms, and the care packets they read along with them (and the god-awful in depth adoption forms that some breed rescues have... but that's a topic for a different day), I've had people start on them, and tell me, you know what, now that they really had to think about caging and the answers to my questions and whatnot... they're not sure they're ready to adopt.  Sure, that loses an adoption (if you want to look at it that way), but I'd prefer to look at it as -- an informed person decided that that specific pet is not right for them, right this moment.  I'm not sure if that happens when there's a form that could be filled out in 2 minutes.

My worry, which I imagine is echo'd by the breed-specific rescues and other rescues that do not participate, is that people will adopt, without much forethought, because the pet is FREE.  In going back to the humane society I was mentioning... the adoption fees for dogs are $75 for large dogs (over 30 lbs.), $150 for small dogs (under 30 lbs.), and $200 for puppies.  You can debate if that's reasonable or not, to yourself, but the point is, it's not a fortune.

Think about dog food for a second.  A large bag of food (provided you're not buying the absolute junk) is at least $30-50 for 30+ pounds.  With a large dog, you'll go through that pretty regularly, so if you can't afford the $75 adoption fee for the large dog... how are you going to afford these $30+ bags of food, at least every other month?

Think about the veterinarian visits for a second.  If you can't afford the $75 adoption fee, how are you going to afford taking the dog to the vet?  I just took in the new dog, and for her checkup, heartworm test, fecal, shots, rabies, and 3 months of flea and tick, it was around $270.  That's fine, I'm not complaining.  But I bring that up, because all of that IS ALREADY DONE, plus spaying / neutering, for these dogs (which is ~$200ish at your average vet), and the adoption fee is $75.  If you purchased a puppy elsewhere, you'd have that, on top of the price of the puppy.  And maybe you want a puppy, of a specific breed, so that's cool with you.  But the thing is, you know the dog you are adopting will be up to date on its shots, and, barring it getting sick, will not need a vet visit for another year (for their yearly checkup).  However... at that yearly checkup... you will, then, be paying for these shots and such.  Should the dog get sick, the vet here is around $49 to walk in the door.  This money has to come from somewhere, and if $75 is too much, I wonder if people are going to be able to afford the vet costs.

Think about the older animals.  Seniors are half price adoption fee.  So, a large senior dog would only be ~$38 to adopt.  That's nothing!  And that's a 7+ year old dog, so they may have plenty of life in them left!  Now, I don't expect everyone to necessarily bend over backwards the way I do for Kailey.  If you haven't been following along, Kailey is my 9.5 year old sheltie soul-mate-dog.  She has arthritis in at least one wrist (the other has never been x-rayed, but is suspected) and arthritis in both ankles.  Kailey is on a prescription arthritis medication and a prescription nerve medication.  She gets two glucosamine / chondroitin joint supplements.  She also gets CBD (cannabinoid) medication, which runs a pretty penny... but works.  The cost for all of this is upwards of $300/ month, and she needs bloodwork ($150) twice a year (x2) to stay on these meds.  Plus the costs of shots yearly, works out to...$4,150+ per year (~$250 shots / checkup, $300 bloodwork, $300 meds / supplements x 12)... and that's IF I don't take her in for anything else, and IF you aren't counting flea / tick and heartworm prevention meds!  Now, I'm not saying everyone necessarily needs to put this much money into their dog.  However... without these meds, she is an unhappy, limping dog, that would rather be a throw-rug on the floor.  With these meds, she plays with my younger dogs and actually rarely limps!  Will someone, who thinks $38 is too much to adopt a senior dog, and instead adopts it for free, even consider putting their dog on joint supplements when the dog starts to get achy?  Maybe, maybe not.

Think about additional accessories.  Dogs need a collar, leash.  Crate.  Chew toys, if you would prefer the dog didn't munch on your cat or couch.  The medium crates I use for my shelties aren't anything special, but I'm pretty sure they were around $150, and that wouldn't even fit a large dog.  The collar and leash could be purchased at the dollar store (though, low quality, I'd worry about them fraying / snapping), as could dog bowls... but the thing is, these are extra expenses that will be incurred, with bringing a new furry family member home.

I guess the overall question that looms in my mind is this -- if the person cannot afford (or doesn't want to pay for) the adoption fee for the animal, are they financially able to care for the animal?  Are they really that invested in the animal?  I see people posting on pet groups on facebook all the time -- oh they got it for free, so no big deal if it doesn't work out.  Maybe if they paid $75, and actually had put money and thought into it, they would have a different perspective.  Maybe not, but I don't think that the animal being free, does anything to help the situation.

I realize, above, that I am talking about dogs, but this all applies to any animal.  With chinchillas, ok, the chin is free -- can the person afford the cage?  The chew toys?  The vet visits if the chin gets sick?   Maybe more importantly, the vet visits if the person uses improper caging and the chinchilla gets impacted from plastic?  Pet food for small animals is even more ridiculously priced than dog food (at the pet store), so that will take a chunk of the owner's cash, regardless of what the small animal cost, as will chew toys and accessories.  Will the people research the pet and buy the appropriate cage, with the animal being free?  Or will the people who, before, could never afford a chinchilla, get one for free, and then go out and get a 10g aquarium on craigslist for a few bucks, and keep it in less-than-appropriate caging, because that's what they can afford?  This is what I worry about.  And that's why we will not participate in events like this.