The Story of Bingo The Guinea Pig

Four years ago, two kids came to our door one Sunday morning and asked if we wanted two guinea pigs because they didn't have food for them and they were living outside roaming free.  We were informed they were girls, but we felt like we had to take them in even though we had boys.  We determined to find homes for them.  I put an ad on Freecycle, and got some responses.  One person said she had 20 so two more wouldn't be a problem.  I wouldn't let them go to her because unless you are running a rescue, twenty is too many!  Before long, my mother and I fell in love with these two little white balls of fur, and they found a home -- with us!

On June 14, we lost Einstein.  We' done everything we could to save him, but his body was just worn out.   Fuzzy and Einstein were brothers and had never been apart a day in their lives until two weeks ago.  Fuzzy became depressed, extremely lonely, and I knew I had to do something.

I started calling every shelter in the "area" on Petfinder.  I knew I wanted a pig from a shelter.  Not only would I be giving one that might otherwise be unadoptable a good home, but after getting one that was so infested with mites from a petstore AND he had sores all over him from where a rabbit bit him, I wanted to know that a pig was in good overall health.

There are not many animal rescues in my area that take in guinea pigs.  I called and e-mailed a number of shelters within a four hour radius of my home, and many required a home visit, so they wouldn't come this far to check out my Cubes and Coroplast Cage and make sure I would be a good piggy parent.

I received e-mails from different shelters, all with different advice.  I was told since Fuzzy was an older male I needed to get a SPAYED female.  I was told two boys get along better than a boy and a girl.  I didn't know what to do, especially since none wanted to adopt to someone who lived this far away.

I started calling vets in the Pittsburgh area asking if they had any signs up at their offices where people were getting rid of a guinea pig.  One office told me to contact a rescue that I had overlooked because I was scanning for females.  I dropped the lady at the rescue a note, explained the situation with Fuzzy, and she recommended a male.  I looked at her adoptables list, and specifically asked about "Bingo" because the moment I saw him, it was love at first sight!

She replied that he came from a girl who had twenty-two guinea pigs and he was a sweet little guy who really got along with other pigs.  He was in the right age range I was looking for (Fuzzy is four, and I wanted a pig who was a bit older.  Bingo is three!)  My mother and I talked about it, and this weekend we made the four hour trip to the shelter with Fuzzy.

When we got there, Fuzzy and Bingo were placed on the floor in a playpen with some hay in the middle.  They never fought and got along really well.  Because the hotel Mom and I had a free night's stay at doesn't allow pets, she generously offered to keep them overnight so we wouldn't have the expense of a hotel.  On Sunday, July 8th, Bingo became part of the family!

I learned he had been famous from youtube.  His previous owner had made almost 200 videos of her guinea pigs.  The lady at the rescue said when she posted on Facebook he might get adopted she had a number of e-mails asking about him.  I decided to start a Facebook page of Bingo's adventures since he seemed so loved by so many people!


Bingo The Guinea Pig

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We made the four hour trip home, and he and Fuzzy have been settling in nicely.  I'm looking forward to giving him a happy home for the remainder of his days.  He enjoys lap time, blueberries, and exploring all the boxes I keep in their cage.