Eureka man working to find new homes for 700 guinea pigs

A North Coast city is reportedly home to the largest guinea pig rescue operation in the United States.

According to a story in the Eureka Times-Standard, Richard Furman is trying to find new homes for 700 guinea pigs crawling around his Eureka home.

The Los Angeles Guinea Pig Rescue group and the Eureka Police Department have been working with Furman since late last year after a reported "reproductive explosion" resulted in his hundreds of furry roommates.

What started as an effort to raise a modest 50 guinea pigs on his property, ended with a neighbor tipping off Animal Control after seeing a way-more-than-that 200 guinea pigs roaming Furman's backyard.

"Once you start losing control of reproduction, it just spirals," Celeste Villarreal, the Eureka Police Department Animal Control officer working on the problem, told the newspaper.

Rescue group founder Saskia Chiesa wrote on a YouCaring page set up to help the animals, "Upon arrival I observed guinea pigs all over a yard that resembled a junk yard. Two ramshackle sheds attached to the home contained stacked kiddie pools overflowing with guinea pigs."

So far, more than 200 people have donated $18,577 toward the rescue group's $59,475 goal.

Find the little guys too cute to resist? Email Furman to take one off his hands at cafetomo@pacbell.net.