PHS baby sitting 140 guinea pigs

Daily Journal staff

They’re small, furry and they grunt like pigs. And 140 of them will make their temporary home at the Peninsula Humane Society starting today.

PHS is baby sitting the guinea pigs for the Hollister Animal Control, who seized the rodents July 2. The guinea pigs were being kept by a woman who was breeding and trading them for food. Unfortunately, PHS spokesman Scott Delucchi said they were being kept in extremely poor conditions.

“They were in cages with their own excrement and even dead guinea pigs. They were kept outside in 100 degree heat,” Delucchi said.

The woman, whose name Delucchi declined to disclose, surrendered the animals yesterday. An investigation is continuing and Delucchi said she may face felony animal neglect charges.

“It’s hard to tell why people do things like that. It’s kind of the same as someone who collects a lot of cats,” Delucchi said.

The animals made their way to the PHS because animal shelters closer to Hollister did not have the space for them. The Monterey SPCA took in 350 guinea pigs from an unrelated seizure in December. Many of those animals are still there.

Teresa Murphy, executive director of a local guinea pig rescue organization, helped the Hollister group find homes for the animals. She called PHS because she knew they may have room, she said. Approximately 60 found space in other shelters or are being cared for by volunteers.

The animals, originally from Peru, were named because they once were sold for a guinea and they grunt like pigs. They are rodents, but closer to the porcupine family than the rat family.

The majority of the guinea pigs at PHS are female and pregnant. The animals have a reputation for quick breeding, Delucchi said.

Yesterday, the first wave of guinea pigs found their new home in PHS’s wildlife center barn.

“They’re happy pigs compared to where they were,” Delucchi said.

Anyone who wants to adopt at least two guinea pigs (they come in same sex pairs), or who wants to help with care and cleaning should call Teresa Murphy at 571-1722.