Gold Coast Guinea Pig Rescue began as a small shelter in the back garden of a suburban block of flats in Southport in December 2005. The shelter was started in response to the large number of guinea pigs being surrendered to the Animal Welfare League. I was a volunteer at AWL at the time, helping with the cats, and when I realised the enormity of the problem in regard to guinea pigs I felt I had to do something about it. I'd never had guinea pigs as pets but as an allround animal lover I couldn't bear to see these little creatures just abandoned. The shelter relocated to larger premises in Pimpama in January 2015 where we have continued our work and at times have been home to around 240 guinea pigs.