When looking at getting an unusual or specific pet from a breeder who is some distance away – or who needs special care on a journey (say air conditioning) – we all rely on a courier.
But how do you know who is best?
Well, the secret is usually to find out who other people recommend or talk about a lot – then you must be on to a good thing. And that is how we found Guinea Pig Teleport.
Who Are Guinea Pig Teleport (UK) Animal Couriers?
They are a UK-based small animal courier whose name can be deceiving!
When we started asking all our contacts – from all different fancies – about animal couriers, this name kept cropping up either as their brand name or as a gentleman called Pawel. Sounded like they would consider all sorts of small animals too – not just piggies.
Their Facebook page quotes them as a: “Friendly, reliable and professional way to get your pet to you safety. APHLA (DEFRA) Licensed and insured.” Great start.
We made contact online and their contact information was very through and they seemed very busy indeed with the next available dates being some weeks away. Another great sign they are well used!
How Do Guinea Pig Teleport Couriers Work?
It seems as though it is all very simple. They work Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday with the actual driving about colecting and dropping off animals. They cover most of central and southern England as standard – sometimes further afield where possible.
They try to pick up and drop of animals the same day – but if the route, traffic, sheer distance or volume of other customers makes that impossible they will advise of this and care for your pets overnight at their own home, and at no extra cost.
The rest of the week they are available for contact (very prompt replies), quotes (usually a set price per collection – not per animal) and questions (always very helpful).
All they need to book you in is:
- your prefered date of travel (see their pinned post on FB for their next available dates);
- the breeders address and contact number (they confirm collection times and details with them in advance); and,
- your own address and contact number
It is as easy at that!
What Were Guinea Pig Teleport Actually Like?
Well, so far based on the few times we have used them recently – we would give them 10/10 without a doubt.
Pawel is so caring and really showed an interest in the animals as individuals – and was very interested to find out we were (well he was) transporting a rare rodent that he had never seen before. He asked about their character and care as well as asking about the sizes and safety of various carriers and other transport options incase he couriers any of them in the future (because outside of current covid restrictions they can supply their own carriers for transport where required).
At the time we were in the tail end of the Lockdown (the main reason we couldn’t collect the animals ourselves) but they were incredibly well prepared and with extremely good measures in place for both themselves, our breeder and us ourselves as the recipient. We do like our animals to be in great hands – above and beyond people only for us – and they proved themselves to be exactly that on that first trip, back in June 2020 now.
Can You Cancel Guinea Pig Teleport?
We even added more animals to the original order the week before the collection and they were fine with it – it was the actual journey you pay for as a client – not the number of individual animals or carriers.
Also, when we had recommended them to a colleague to use – something went wrong the day before the courier was due to take place – and it was fine! They accept and don’t charge for cancellations before the day – even THAT last minute. The journey was rescheduled and went ahead perfectly one week later.
A third trip really clinched the deal of how great they are – which was usually for us a 5 hour drive in a straight line, but our animals arrived within 7 hours – with all their other collections and drops offs in between – and in perfect condition. All dropped off at our door – with a smile. They had even put one of our enclosures in the front footwell to keep an extra close eye on them as they had been squeaking a lot!
Unless we hear otherwise – we will always recommend Guinea Pig Teleport as a first option.
Let’s just hope you are within their driving range!
Find them on Facebook yourself – and read their updated pinned post showing their next available dates and all their terms and conditions.