Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A local guinea pig rescue group saved a half-dozen guinea pigs recently that were left out at Buffalo's Outer Harbor. One of the guinea pigs was also pregnant, giving birth to three babies, totaling the number to nine.
Buffalo Guinea Pig Mafia has been helping the Western New York Community since June 2024. The group is the only one in the region that exclusively rescues guinea pigs.
Founder Jessica Meacham admits it is like a double-edged sword.
"People know about us. People promote us in social media, which is great. The community knows we're here, but on the flip side, we're the only ones that do this. So we get multiple surrender requests daily," said Meacham with WBEN. "We have 117 in the rescue right now, and I have 46 on a waiting list that I can't even get into the rescue because we just simply don't have the space."
Meacham adds it can be a huge challenge, and they have to put people on a waiting list up to 10-to-12 weeks.
"It's a huge challenge, because at some point, you have to put people on a waiting list. And we do tell them, right now our waiting list is about 10-to-12 weeks out," Meacham said. "If we get fosters, if we have adoptions, I can maybe move them into the rescue a little bit quicker, but at this point, people are waiting 10-to-12 weeks to even get a spot."
The rescue is newer and all started with Meacham working as a school social worker and them being able to help with the kids.
"My principal sent me an email from pets in the classroom grant and said, 'Hey, you should get guinea pigs.' And I went, 'nobody wants guinea pigs. Who wants guinea pigs? No? Ew.' And he said, 'No, no, they're great.' He had, I think, 18 of them himself at that point. He said, 'No, they're great. They're perfect. They're going to be great. You can bring them in for counseling," Meacham said. "They could because I'm a school social worker. So they can sit with the kids during counseling. The kids can read them stories. We can work on literacy, we can work on social skills."
There are many ways to help the cause including going to their website to donate along with a fundraiser on Aug. 16.