Small Furry Hotel

Furry hotel review

If you are pondering over whether Madeleine and the small furry hotel is the
best place for your pets holiday then please read on...
I met Madeleine just under a year ago after we had adopted two rescue guinea
pigs on a spur of the moment decision. Shortly after adopting we realised that
due to the nature of our jobs we needed someone reliable to look after the
cavies when we were working overseas etc. At the time we had no idea that such a
facility existed and after some research we found a couple of carers of small
furries, I went to visit the first as it was my closest and was completely put
off the whole idea due to cramped living conditions, piggy & rabbit runs on the
lawn with 3 dogs running around scaring all the animals etc. I was therefore a
little wary about the idea but decided to take the 50min drive over to the small
furry hotel to investigate- what I came across was the complete opposite of the
last place I had seen. Tranquil, rural, spacious, clean, green and friendly. On
first impressions your only thoughts are Madeleine must be bonkers to have the
bravery to look after all these animals, but within 10mins you realise she and
her family are committed, animal loving people who are the perfect people to
look after your pet.
Our piggys - rhino & Darwin have been staying with madeleine at the furry hotel
for roughly 7 days out of every 30 for the last 12months due to the nature of
our jobs; she gives us the ability to be able to keep our pigs without either
neglecting them by leaving them under the neighbours part time care whilst we're
away or by having to make the choice not to have pets at all.
Going beyond this, as we have two male pigs they started to scrap about 4 months
ago, the fights got worse and we ended up with a bit of a blood bath one
evening, not knowing how to deal with the situation I have to admit I text
Madeleine to ask her advice, within minutes she had called me back offering
advice, calming us down and giving us the contact details of an excellent vet.
All I can say is that goes beyond anything I could ever have expected. But it
doesn't stop there! A decision was made to castrate our piggies to reduce their
testosterone levels with the hope that it would stop any future fights (it has)
- unfortunately their were complications with Darwin and he struggled with
swelling and had to undergo a second very challenging operation to relieve the
issues, whilst going through the procedure they also found that he had kidney
stones (fairly common in boars). All of these decisions/choices and vet visits
occurred in the run up to some big and frequent work trips that we just couldn't
change. The pigs were already booked in to stay at the furry hotel during these
periods prior to any operations so a call was put in to madeleine to ask her to
take care of our special boys during this traumatic period for them.. Not only
did she say yes, but she kept them inside in the warm whilst they recovered,
gave Darwin his medication twice a day, syringe fed the poor little chap every
2-3hours as he was unable to eat for himself and to avoid the possible killer
during these periods of gut-stasis, she weighed him as per our request on each
feeding to make sure he was keeping his weight up.. Darwin would not have made it as far as he did without the love,
care and commitment of the newly named 'Aunty Madeleine'.
Sadly a few weeks later when we thought Darwin had nearly recovered a new swelling appeared so we took him to a specialist in Andover
and he had to undergo another huge operation to repair a herniated bladder, sadly he did not come through this operation and
being left heart-broken and with a pining and lonely Guinea pig we were lost as to what to do. Madeleine put us in touch immediately with
Waggy Tails rescue who had a few guinea pigs waiting for adoption, she spoke to them on our behalf convinced them that we
are good piggy parents and we bought home a pair of girls yesterday.. now the bonding process is just begining and fingers
crossed it will work out and poor Rhino will have some new companions, in the meantime whilst the bonding process is underway he has the company (through wire mesh) to
keep him active and not so lonely.
Without Madeleines suport and commitment to all things furry we truly wouldn't have been able to give the care and love to our
piggys that we have done and do. I wouldn't trust anyone else to not only take great care of them but to consistently go beyond the call of duty to help them (and us!).
If you are pondering as to whether or not this is the right place for your pet, then i hope that this review has stopped any doubts you may
have had.
RIP Darwin our beloved Piggy 14/9/11