A warm welcome to Guinea Pig Helpline...
Guinea Pig Helpline, and all its associated services, is currently run by one person, myself: Laura Humphreys. I share my home with 16 guinea pigs: six boars (four neutered) and ten sows, ranging in age from 1 year to 6 years. I also live with the rest of the human family - my parents and four year old twin brother and sister - and two dogs. You can see more about my guinea pigs and their setup on the new "Meet the HGs" Page.
Current Status
As well as being in charge of my own guinea pigs and running the Helpline, I occasionally take care of other peoples guineas who need a little TLC - those who need syringe-feeding.
I am also currently studying a number of subjects from home. The main course is run by the British Association of Rodentologists (B.A.R), based at the Cambridge Cavy Trust (CCT) Guinea Pig Hospital, which is luckily very close to where I live. I am currently working on the Rodent Health Advisor (RHA) diploma, which gives me a good insight into many areas of guinea pig medical problems and their treatments.
As a recovering agoraphobic, I still struggle to get out and about, and due to this difficulty I am unable to complete the RHA course at present, as it requires a 3 day hands-on tutorial at the CCT hospital. It is disappointing after being enrolled on the course for so long (since 2008!) but I am hopeful to be able to complete the residential as soon as possible. Onwards and upwards - I will get there eventually!
I am a qualified Reiki practitioner, trained to Second Degree (Okuden). There is more about Reiki and how it can help guinea pigs (and their people!) in the Factsheet listed on the Downloads page.
Future Prospects & Ambitions
I have so many plans and dreams for the future, it is sometimes hard to know where to start. No prizes for guessing they're all to do with guinea pigs though! Ultimately, I would love to work as a homoeopathic rodentologist, offering services such as holiday boarding, health advice clinics, grooming clinics, educational workshops and educational literature. Some stepping stones to help me on my way to all that includes:
* Once qualified as a Rodent Health Advisor, I will move onto the full rodentology course, known as G-BAR, and with a little hard work become a fully qualified Rodentologist.
* Other courses I would like to study include diplomas in Animal Communication, Homoeopathy, Aromatherapy, Bereavement Counselling, Healing for Companion Animals, Remedial Massage and Medicinal Herbs.
* I hope to be in a position to train to Reiki Master level at some stage in the future.
Why did Laura set up Guinea Pig Helpline?
Despite not being as experienced as many other guinea pig keepers - I have "only" had guinea pigs for seven years, since 2003 - I have dedicated my life to them from the start. The past 7 years have been spent researching so many different opinions about their care, joining in with a wide variety of guinea pig internet discussion forums and learning from various sources, such as vets, rodentologists and - most significantly - other "guinea pig people"!
I have a good reputation for the advice I give on the forums I frequent, holding the privileged position of Forum Buddy on The Guinea Pig Forum (a recognition of my support and knowledge) and Administrator on Kazzy's Cavies Community. I was also a Moderator on a former, major UK piggie forum.
The guinea pig world is very opinionated at times. Some aspects of guinea pig care are highly debatable and often rather heated - despite best attempts you can never make every guinea pig owner happy! I pride myself on being as diplomatic as possible, as sympathetic to as many views as possible, and I never decline to help someone purely based on the fact they don't agree with my personal views. I aim to discuss as many options as possible with anyone who contacts me, making the owner feel they are completely involved in the advice given - not just stating the facts, but working things out and helping the owner to make a decision that is right for them and their guineas.
I set up Guinea Pig Helpline in November 2009 to offer a number of services that can make a positive impact on guinea pig welfare and provide some education to those in need of some advice.
Please do feel free to have a browse around the website, and to get in touch either by telephone or email, should you have any questions.
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