Fellow Guinea Pig LoversI think we are doing a good job servicing our local community, but the ambitions go beyond that. My goal is to open up a low-cost, guinea pig-specific teaching clinic. A place where guinea pigs and their owners can get low-cost treatment, and where veterinarians from all over the world can come and learn the intricacies of guinea pig medicine. We will also be able to initiate studies to learn more about common illnesses, their causes, and treatments. This is an exciting project that I am so very passionate about. We estimate that we will need $150,000 to get the project going, and my hope is that the clinic will pay for itself. In the meantime, I am so pleased to announce that we have a vet that visits every other Saturday running a low-cost diagnostics clinic for our community!!!
Some of the regular work we do
 Rejected baby Pippy weighing only 60 grams at 10 days old
when she arrived. She is thriving now.
Each year we rescue thousands of guinea pigs from private parties and the local animal shelters here in Los Angeles. People find them on hiking trails, in cages in or by the trash bin, in backyards, and in boxes discarded by the roadside. We work with law enforcement when our assistance and expertise is needed for a neglect and/or hoarding case. We specialize in getting sick pigs healthy and back on their feet. I make educational YouTube videos on everything guinea pig to freely share all I have learned in my many years of caring for these humble and gentle creatures.
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Thank You SO Much For Supporting us in these Uncertain Times. We are doing everything thing we safely can do to bring in funds. We are doing fun raffles, working hard on the YouTube channel, selling supplies at the adoptions days, etc. Again, thank you, THANK YOU for thinking of the guinea pigs!! And thank you so much for your life-saving donation. Remember that you also support all the outreach efforts and all the teaching that I do that makes a tremendous difference. My YouTube friends and I are making a difference in raising the bar for guinea pig care globally! This is a beautiful thing! And we are only just starting... Collage of the recent Norcal Rescue.
My name is Saskia Chiesa. I started LAGPR over 20 years ago. My love of guinea pigs began when when I held a little piggy in my hands for the very first time. It was love at first sight I started LAGPR after arriving here in 1998 from the Netherlands. I was blown away by the lack of rescue support and resources for guinea pigs here in L.A. I learned there were not just dog rescues, but even breed-specific dog rescues. There were rat rescues, turtle rescues, pigeon rescues, and tons of bunny rescues, but nothing at all for guinea pigs. I haven't looked back from that first day I opened the doors.
"Guinea pigs are such gentle, humble, and innocent little beings. Each one of them has a unique personality with endearing and quirky traits" The sad part was that most ALL of the 180 males we took look like this. Missing teeth, missing ears, missing eyes, and/or broken, badly-healed legs. It does not look like a lot of them will be adoptable, so we may have to keep a huge sanctuary group alongside our regular operations. This will make financial dent in out frugal budget, and we urge you to donate if you can!
If I have learned anything in the years of doing this work, it is that there is a tremendous need for the services we provide. Surrender requests come in every day, usually between 2 - 6 daily. We have a waiting list for intakes, and not a day goes by that guinea pigs show up at some of the 12 local animals shelters we cover. We offer free wellness checks and nail clips for all guinea pigs, regardless of whether they were adopted from us. We have a phenomenal team of volunteers who donate their free time to assist with anything from adoptions, medicating, feeding, cage cleaning, and guinea pig bubble baths.
"More than 2,000 guinea pigs were rescued and adopted out last year alone."First time I met this particular group on location. Shocking images!Recent Rescue - each male had to have a single box to prevent bad fights on the the 12-hour drive to our Chatsworth, CA ranch.
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Guinea pigs are such gentle, humble and innocent little beings. Each one of them has a unique personality with endearing and quirky traits. They are so very dependent on their caretakers, which makes them so very vulnerable. I am so blessed and so very thankful that the universe conspired to make me the voice of these precious little furballs. It is very humbling to be able to do this work and I am deeply grateful to be in a position to do so. Learn more about guinea pigs by watching some of the videos on our YouTube channel!
It costs over $250,000 a year to run the rescue at its current capacity, and without funds from fellow guinea pig lovers, we would not even get close to making the impact we make today.