My name is Savannah Schmidt. I am a 17-year-old high school student from Brentwood, California. I adopted my first two guinea pigs at 10 years old after begging my mom to let me take in a family friend’s guinea pigs that were being rehomed due to allergies. Since then, I have adopted my current guinea pigs, Reba and Pickles, from Baby Beanz Guinea Pig Rescue out in Oakley, California.

Guinea pigs, contrary to popular belief, require lots of unique care in order to thrive in captivity. Much like all other pets, one of these requirements includes dental care. Guinea pigs’ teeth are constantly growing throughout their lives and need to be worn down with hay and wood. However, much like humans, guinea pigs can have poor dental alignment resulting in their teeth being unable to rub against each other and wear each other down.

Recently, my youngest guinea pig, Pickles, has been lethargic and rapidly losing weight. I took her to a specialist vet out in Antioch, California, who said that her back molars are indeed overgrown and misaligned, leading to pain when eating and difficulty chewing, swallowing, and breathing.

We were given the option to put her under anesthesia while the vet manually shaved down the back molars, which would allow her to eat comfortably again. However, the quoted price was near $500, an amount that I am just simply unable to pay at the moment after other bills, including two other vet bills for respiratory infections as a result of the now freezing temperatures.

I have been able to save about half of the cost of the procedure from my part-time job, but I just simply cannot delay as she continues to lose more weight. That is why I am asking you—family, friends, and strangers—to help me pay off this procedure in order to allow Pickles to live out her soon-to-be senior years comfortably and plumply.