Northampton sanctuary taking in ill guinea pigs to host a Halloween fundraiser this Sunday

A Northampton sanctuary, which takes in guinea pigs with ongoing health issues, is hosting a Halloween fundraiser on Sunday (October 30).

The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary, located in East Hunsbury, will be at Blacky More Community Centre, in Butts Croft Close, from 1.30pm until 5pm – offering activities, a raffle, tombola and refreshments.

Debbie Postles, the sanctuary’s director and trustee, first set it up in 2011 after sharing the journey of her own guinea pig, Poppet, gained traction on social media – with viewers asking Debbie to take on their guinea pigs with health issues.

The sanctuary did not gain charity status until 2016, and even before then Debbie was taking in guinea pigs permanently from those who could not afford their vet bills, primarily for dental problems.

Debbie said: “People travel from all over the UK to see us and it’s amazing what people would do for their guinea pigs to get help.

“We keep in touch with previous owners as they still care and we’re often the only hope they’ve got.

“I even have people reaching out from other countries for advice.”

Debbie praised the sanctuary’s vet, as “without him, the charity would not exist”. He is often able to help the guinea pigs with their dental problems after the previous owners have been told nothing can be done.

The money raised by The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary’s Halloween event will be invested back into caring for the pets – including covering vet bills and day-to-day care.

The charity was “hit very hard” by the pandemic as fundraising events were not possible, and recently many people have cancelled their monthly donations due to the cost of living crisis.

“At one point, we weren’t able to take any more guinea pigs in for the fear of running out of money and not being able to care for the ones already with us,” said Debbie.

They would usually hold four events per year, but this Sunday’s event is the first since December 2019. The sanctuary’s Christmas fundraiser has already been booked for December 10, also at the Blacky More Community Centre.

Debbie currently has 16 guinea pigs in her care at her home and her fellow sanctuary volunteer, Emma, has six.

The charity has seven trustees, who help in a variety of ways – including financial support, looking after the guinea pigs, fostering them, applying for grants, and raising awareness of the charity.

However, without financial stability – which is helped by successful fundraising events – the sanctuary will not be able to continue operating.

The founder also has the support of her neighbours, who might think she is “crazy” but “understand what she does is important to her”.

“I’ll often arrive home to find bags of salad leaves on my doorstep,” said Debbie.

Debbie has no shame in offering the guinea pigs a life of luxury. Their cages are in a log cabin in the garden, with an air con unit for when it is warm and a radiator for the cold.

“They are spoiled,” Debbie admits. “This is their home and I want to make it as nice as possible.”

For more information on The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary, you can visit their Facebook page here.