Guinea Pig Appreciation Day!
By Hope Bidegainberry on July 16, 2018
In honor of Guinea Pig Appreciation Day, the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA (PHS/SPCA) is waiving adoption fees on guinea pigs for the week of July 16-22. Guinea Pig Appreciation Day is celebrated throughout the world on July 16.
“Guinea pigs can be exceptionally friendly and often squeal with delight when they see their owners,” said PHS/SPCA’s Communications Manager Buffy Martin Tarbox. “They quickly bond to humans and given their overall interactive nature and lower maintenance care than a dog or cat, they make great pets.”
Guinea pigs need hay, fresh water and vegetables and special food pellets formulated for them. They do require a large cage lined with pine or paper-based bedding. Guinea pigs on average live five to seven years and are known for their occasional unique squeals of delight and chattering.
“We currently have more than a dozen guinea pigs available for adoption, including long-hair guinea pigs,” according to Tarbox. “Even though the adoption fees are waived on guinea pigs July 16-22, we will still be following our strict and rigorous adoption processes since we want to make permanent matches.”
Guinea pigs have been domesticated since 5,000 BC. They were popular pets among royalty and the upper-class in Europe in the 16th century, and their popularity as pets has not waned through the centuries.
PHS/SPCA encourages potential adopters to visit their Tom and Annette Lantos Center for Compassion at 1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame to meet the guinea pigs. The shelter is open seven days a week for adoptions, Monday through Friday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and weekends 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.
