· Danielle Challender
HALT Announces Discovery of New Species: Microdidelphis domesticus ("Pocket Opossum")
A small animal with an opossum face and hamster-sized body, sitting in soft bedding
Blog
Updates, stories, and news from the rescue
· Danielle Challender
Ilya's Redemption Arc: When Neutering Is the Answer
Ilya is not happy about recent events. His cagemates and foster parents, however, are absolutely thrilled.
· Danielle Challender
Matilda's Arthritis and the Start of Adequan Trials for Our Special Needs Herd
Matilda's arthritis has progressed significantly. The severity in her knee is now affecting the way she walks — more noticeably than her already distinctive gait. We are increasing her pain management and, importantly, beginning Adequan trials for the guinea pigs in our sanctuary with the most advanced cases of osteodystrophy and arthritis.
· Danielle Challender
Good News for Story: Just an Infection, Not Something Worse
After a worrying week, we have good news: Story's lumps are not what we feared.
· Danielle Challender
One Year with Sonnet: A Rare Reproductive Condition and a Remarkable Recovery
Today marks one year since Sonnet came into our lives — and what a year it has been. When she arrived, she was hairless and miserable, her body struggling with a hormonal condition that is genuinely rare even among guinea pig rescuers.
· Danielle Challender
Meet Villain: A New Friend for a Grieving Guinea Pig Named Hero
Hero has had a rough year. He is a senior guinea pig who has lost five companions in less than twelve months — every single one of them a super senior who passed before him. After Quest and Watson crossed the rainbow bridge, Hero became visibly depressed. He stopped being himself.
· Danielle Challender
Casper: The Lethal White Who Started It All
Going through old photos sometimes sends you down a beautiful rabbit hole. This week, Danni found a gem: a photo of Casper, one of the very first intakes when HALT was just getting started — and the guinea pig who taught her more than she ever expected.
· Danielle Challender
Goodbye, Clara Bee
It is with a heavy heart that we share that Clara Bee passed away yesterday after a five-month fight against Congestive Heart Failure — on top of several other health challenges she had been managing since arriving at the sanctuary in June 2024.
· Danielle Challender
Sissy's First Supervised Visit with the Big Herd
Baby Sissy had her first supervised visit with the big herd yesterday, and it went about as well as we could have hoped — with a few adorable complications.
· Danielle Challender
Tonks Finds Her Forever Home — With the Best Bunny Parents Ever
Sometimes the stars align in the most perfect way. Our friends at NYACC reached out looking for placement for a Californian bunny who had been waiting at one of their shelters for a long time. And as luck would have it, Danni's mom had been wanting a Californian bunny for ages.