A Marana animal sanctuary is searching for answers after more than two dozen of its guinea pigs were taken.
Twenty-five of the small, furry rodents were taken from the rescue on Sept. 23, and deputies are looking for two female persons of interest.
In addition to taking the guinea pigs, the perpetrators wrote obscenities and a racial slur on a whiteboard.
A Marana animal sanctuary is searching for answers after more than two dozen of its guinea pigs were taken one night.
Twenty-five of the small, furry rodents were taken from the rescue on Sept. 23, and deputies are looking for two female persons of interest, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
But Monique Sainz, who sits on the board for the Lidtke Small Animal Foundation, said she suspects more people were involved. The intruders broke through two large doors at about 1:30 a.m. before covering up all of the cameras in the area. The pet cameras only record in real time and don’t actually save the video, Sainz said.
In addition to taking the guinea pigs, they wrote obscenities and a racial slur on the whiteboard, leading Sainz to believe it could be a hate crime.
The rescue takes in guinea pigs that are health impaired, and most of the stolen guinea pigs had health problems. Many of them need to be on specialized diets or medications, Sainz said. She also said she has no idea why someone would need or want to take that many guinea pigs.
The sanctuary was in the process of relocating to Phoenix when the guinea pigs were stolen. There were about 100 guinea pigs, although most had already been moved. The 25 that were stolen were waiting for the final vet clearance allowing them to travel, Sainz said.
