Archive for the 'Featured Rescue' Category |
2014 Featured Rescues 2014 Featured Guinea Pig Rescues Welcome to 2014! It’s time for 2 new featured rescues! In the 2014 featured rescue poll, we asked you, “Which rescue would you like to see featured for 2014?” And we’re ready to share the results! Guinea Pig Rescue Interview: Orange County Cavy Haven, Part 2 Orange County Cavy Haven Logo
NOTE: This post is part 2 of 1 in an interview with Michiko Vartanian, CEO of Orange County Cavy Haven, a 2013 wheek.it Featured Rescue.
wheek.it (WK): So let’s talk about some real-life challenges you’ve faced since you took on the role of CEO. How did you face those challenges? What was the outcome, Michiko? Michoko Vartanian, Orange County Cavy Haven CEO (MV): Perhaps the biggest challenge, for me, is the emotional challenge due to the amount of sadness involved in the position. I am in contact daily with at least one person who has a sick pig, or has been involved in something upsetting regarding a guinea pig and is reaching out for help. In addition to the fact that there is at least one foster pig in the rescue at any given time who is dealing with an illness, I also am in contact with a great number of people who reach out to me whether or not they’ve rescued from us. I am always available to anyone who has questions regarding pigs, but the result is that I become exposed to so many sad stories. Probably a day doesn’t go by where my heart doesn’t break to some degree. I just try to balance that with the fact that my role also exposes me to all of the many, many happy stories, and I try to focus on those. Guinea Pig Rescue Interview: Orange County Cavy Haven, Part 1 Orange County Cavy Haven Volunteers [source] Orange County Cavy Haven (OCCH) was founded in 2002 to fill the need in Southern California for a rescue focused exclusively on guinea pigs. Since then, OCCH has grown to be able to adopt over 240 guinea pigs each year. Unlike most rescues or shelters, OCCH doesn’t have a central facility or rescue center. Instead, the hundreds of guinea pigs helped each year are done so by private “foster families” who volunteer to take in homeless guinea pigs rescued by OCCH until a permanent home can be found. Orange County Cavy Haven isn’t the first “foster then adopt” rescue, thought the tenacity and forward-thinking of its CEO, Michiko Vartanian, lends an easy brand to the “foster/adopt” flavor of Orange County Cavy Haven. Recently, wheek.it got to catch-up with the ever-busy, fast-talking Vartanian, where we got to ask a few questions. |
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