Happy June!

Happy June everyone!

For the month of May, four (4) chinchillas were surrendered and eleven (11) chinchillas were adopted. It would have been ideal if three of those surrendered hadn’t come from a legal intervention breach of contract case.

Folks, we take our adoptions and contract very seriously. Whimsy believes that people in general are basically good, honest individuals. The contract is there to deter those who otherwise have less than stellar ideas for becoming a rescue mom or dad. To date we have won 100% of the cases involving breach of contract with our chinchilla adoptions. 

The latest legal round caused us to revamp the contract. In the words of our lawyer, “To give it more bite”. The updated version of the contract includes the usual promises to care for and not neglect the chinchillas, keep bonded pairs together unless a fight occurs, to refrain from breeding and the specification regarding keeping a single gender chinchilla home, and other no-brainer items one would find in any rescue contract. But now we have included the provision that all attorney fees, court costs and other related costs are payable entirely by the individual adopting if Whimsy has to take legal action.  It’s truly a shame that this has become necessary.

The adoption contract is a pre-screening device. It is viewable to all and we require potential adopters to review it prior to arranging an appointment. Those who do not agree with our terms are welcome to find a chinnie friend elsewhere. Those who do choose to adopt from us get the assurance of lifelong support, including expert advice, comprehensive history and behavior information for every individual chinchilla and access to wholesome, comparatively inexpensive care products.

The majority of our adoptive families are wonderful, caring people, many of whom we are happy to call our fellow chinnie friends. Some adoptions do not take root as we hope, and the individuals or families find that chinchilla ownership is just not for them. We understand. Chins aren’t the perfect pet for everyone. And not every chin is a perfect pet even for long term owners! We are obligated to accept the return of any animal adopted from us, therefore providing assurance that no one is left with an animal they may otherwise neglect. We like to think of our adoption contract as a safety net for all involved.