By Brian Anderson
Valley Times

Nov. 20, 2000

Published Monday, November 20, 2000

CAVY CARE By the numbers: GROUP TOTAL: 160 guinea pigs BEDDING OF PINE SHAVINGS: 8 bundles, or 72 cubic feet, per week FOOD: 50 pounds of pellets weekly ANNUAL EXPENSES: $17,000 MONTHLY DONATIONS: about $200 TIME SPENT CLEANING CAGES: 12 hours a week NEXT RESCUE: 300 guinea pigs

From the time she moved in about two months ago, Sharlene Scheffer's rented two-bedroom house has been infested by rodents.

They're furry. Their eyes are beady. They're in the kitchen, the living room -- they're everywhere.

But what many fail to understand and what some write off as, well, mental instability, is that Scheffer wouldn't have it any other way.

"I have never turned one down, and I don't plan to," said Scheffer, 36. "I'm only limited by my income and my space available."

Welcome to Cavy World Guinea Pig Rescue, quite possibly the largest such organization in California. For its 160 resident rodents, Cavy World is a sanctuary. Rustling through pine shavings in dozens of cages stacked five feet high, the critters were saved from abuse in some cases, euthanasia in others.

"Disposable pets," Scheffer said, referring to what she believes is a common perception of guinea pigs. "Small kid, small pet, small responsibility."

Taking care of 160 cavies, as they are known to enthusiasts, is no small task, however. Twice-a-week cage cleanings gobble up 12 hours. Then there's feeding and grooming. Throw in annual out-of-pocket costs of $17,000, and the project can quickly consume a life.

"I spend about a third of my income on food and bedding," said Scheffer, a graveyard-shift veterinary technician at VetCare in Dublin. "I love the little guys."

Her house is testament to that. Images of guinea pigs are everywhere. There's the stained glass lampshade and fabric guineas sewn into a pillow for which she paid $30 at an online auction. There are professionally shot photos and cavy knickknacks given by friends who know all too well about her love.

Even the shirt she wore during a recent visit showed three guinea pigs and the words "Cavies are Cool."

Scheffer did not set out to save guinea pigs. Growing up on a small farm in South Lyon, Mich., about 40 miles west of Detroit, she loved animals and even had a guinea pig while in high school. She left it behind, though, when she moved to Colorado and then to Oakland.

At one time, she collected plants -- nurturing nearly 300 -- but she longed for fuzzier friends.

For her 30th birthday she was given two guinea pigs that quickly turned into four.

"Then I just started going to pet stores saying, 'Oh that one's cute. I've got to have one of those,'" she said. "I kept setting plateaus like 'I'll stop at 75. I'll stop at 100.' If somebody would have told me six years ago I would have 150 of them, I would have told them they were crazy."

Scheffer also made 11th hour dashes to area shelters, coming away with guinea pigs that were scheduled to be euthanized. Shelters now call her when they have a sickly, abandoned or unwanted cavy.

In guinea pig circles, her efforts are seldom matched. There is no official tally of cavy rescue groups operating in the state or country, but they are rare, said Joe Buchanan, president of the Hollister-based Golden State Cavy Breeders Association.

Buchanan said he knows of Scheffer from shows she has attended but has heard little about her rescue group. Generally speaking, he said, it's not something that should be encouraged.

From a legal standpoint, Cavy World is not something Alameda County agrees with either, said Sgt. George Tarnow, who heads the sheriff's department's animal control division.

"Where does she live?" Tarnow joked when told of Scheffer. "She can't have 150 guinea pigs, bottom line."

Housing guinea pigs, which are treated as rabbits by the law, requires that the caretaker abide by strict standards of care, Tarnow said.

First and foremost, the caretaker needs to get an animal fanciers permit and pay a $40 fee, he said. Then, the property must be inspected to ensure that it meets size standards and that hutches or cages are kept to the rear, at least 40 feet from a house. Cages must be cleaned daily to minimize odor and fly infestation, and food must be kept in containers to avoid attracting rodents of a more despised variety -- rats and mice.

"She very well could have a rescue, but the thing is she is keeping too many guinea pigs," Tarnow said. "(But) I wouldn't touch her unless someone started to complain or unless the animals are being treated inhumanely."

In the two months since she moved in, there have been no complaints from neighbors. In fact, it's likely most area residents are like Blanca Enriguez, who lives in a tidy house next door to Scheffer with her husband, Efrain, and their two children.

"We have been here about a year and a half, and I didn't know she had those," Enriguez said. "I would be concerned if one of the guinea pigs got into house or ate my plants or went into the garage and ate my clothes."

Adding to the potential for legal problems is that Cavy World is not a registered and approved nonprofit animal shelter. Scheffer said she has not filed any papers with the Internal Revenue Service or other paperwork officially establishing her organization.

Still, from all appearances, Scheffer runs a tight ship. There are plenty of guinea pigs that give off a bit of a smell, to be sure. But there do not appear to be more than one or two adults to a cage on average, there's fresh bedding of pine shavings and food and water.

"Being a technician, I think that she takes good care of them," said Jennifer McBride, a veterinarian at VetCare. "In that respect, she is a lot better than some shelters where guinea pigs have to be euthanized when they cannot provide the necessary care."

Employee discounts on surgery and other medical needs also help ensure the pets are well cared for. A recent operation to remove a bladder stone from one cavy that could have cost as much as $600 had a price tag of $16, Scheffer said, adding that co-workers "think I'm crazy -- in a good way."

In a world where dogs and cats are the pick of the litter in pet populations, cavies often get the boot. Mainstream shelters, such as the Valley Humane Society in Pleasanton, do not have the space to house them, said spokeswoman Cindy Ferrin.

"We're a very small shelter," Ferrin said. "It's not that we don't like them. We only have the capability of taking dogs and cats."

So continues Scheffer's crusade.

"There are 300 in Lawrence, Kansas, that I plan to fly out, rent a U-Haul and bring back," said Scheffer of her nextrescue. "Of course they're all pregnant, and there's a potential for 500. But if it's a choice between (their) death and having guinea pigs all over the place, I'll have guinea pigs all over the place."