Question:
I got this e-mail between Christmas and New Years. I didn't answer it, because obviously these people are not serious about offering a permanent home for a chin:

Hi

My name is ***** *******. I have a 2 year old chinchilla right now, and I am looking to purchase another chin to keep this one company. I was trying to find someone who would sell me the chin that I would like, but if my chin did not get along with it would you take the chin and return us our money? I am interested in the white violet, white, or the black velvet chins. The white mosaic ones are real nice too. Could you write and let me know. On your e-mail you had a white mosaic female on their. Do you have any white violets or white chins coming available? Thank you

The part where it says "on your e-mail, I assume they mean, on the website". As I said though, the e-mail rubbed me the wrong way, so I didn't answer it. Well, a few days ago, I got another one from them:

Hi there

My name is ***** ******* and I have a chinchilla she will be 2 years old in February. I was wounding about having another chin for my chinchilla to keep her company. If it does not work will you take it back and give our money back also. I really like the Mosaic female you have for sale . I got my chin from ******** in langly BC.

thanks

Now, I am going to answer it, if I ever cool down. My hubby is with me on this, and said I am right not selling her a chin, and to stick to my guns, but when I told a friend of mine, she told another breeder about it, and she said I am over-reacting and that they would sell to that person. But I just can't bring myself to sell to someone who will "get rid" of the chin if it doesn't fit in. Am I wrong? I am still fuming over this e-mail, so am not sure how I will answer it or what I will say.


Answer:
Stick to your guns, girlie!! You have to think of the welfare of the chinnie IMO


Answer:
I don't think you were overreacting, you are concerened for your chin's well being, and the careless attitude of the person is apperent


Answer:
i cant say that i would sell to that person,,,but maybe in your email back you can explain that just because they dont get along doesnt mean they should give one back,,,,that there are ways to keep both chins even if it means setting up 2 cages,,which they should have to begin with because they cant just put the new chin in with the older one, .,..explain how to introduce 2 chinchillas,,,and just see what they say,,,

if you dont feel comfortable selling to them, then definately follow your gut, but maybe you could educate them a bit


Answer:
i'm with brandy...

always remember, it is entirely your right to refuse to sell to ANYONE you don't get good vibes about, you owe that to your chinnies...

as for this person, i'm wondering how much they know about chinchillas...i know i'm not even close to educated about them, but aren't chins kind of a loner animal? not exactly the most social?


Answer:
What happens when these chins have to be seperated 2 years from now? I agree with everyone. This person does not seem to be a responsible chin owner.


Answer:
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am glad I am not the only one that sees the problem here. I would normally refuse anyone who sends such an e-mail, but the name was very familiar in the e-mail, I think they asked me before to adopt to them and I refused. I am almost certain that I told them why, so it burns me up that they are contacting me again. I am not sure I can be nice to them about this.
It worries me also that another breeder said she would see no problem adopting to her though


Answer:
Originally Posted by SIChins
It worries me also that another breeder said she would see no problem adopting to her though
I see your point entirely. Unfortunately you cannot always stop the actions of another person. Hopefully this other breeder would think VERY carefully about adopting out to this applicant.


Answer:
I received an almost exact request from the same person

My name is ********* ********** I have a grey chinchiilla right now (2yrs old). I want to purchase another chinchilla to keep her company, but I don't know if they will get along. I need to buy one from somebody that if they do not get along, will allow us to return the chinchilla and our money returned. Would you be willing to do this? The colours I want are the "violet", "black velvet" or "white". Are you going to have any litters of these colours? I also want the chinchilla to be friendly and holdable. The one we have now is not, so we want one that is socialized properly, to allow holdability. Thank you

I was very shocked by what she was proposing and thought the same thing as you did. I told her I was not interested in her business. A few days later I received this email.

This is ******* *********writing to you. I was just wondering if you would allow me to bring my chinchilla to your place, put it beside a baby to find out if they would be somewhat compatible. I was talking to other chinchilla owners (none who have the white chins), and they suggested this. I bout my chin from ****** and she says she is a friend of yours. Do you still have any white mosaics (female) left or the white chinchillas left. Another questions I wanted to ask you was, how many raisons can you give the chinchilla at one time. We had been told just one raison, but this other lady I was talking to last night said she fed her chin more. What is your advice on this subject. I really want a white chin, especially a white mosaic would be really good. Do you think you would be willing to do this?

A little persistant eh! After receiving this email I told her that this idea was not something I would consider either. I like how she made it sound like everyone else she talked to thought her proposal was a great idea. My guess is she is trying to play one breeder against another by suggesting some of the others thought her ideas were fine and dandy...
I did end up sending her a whole whack of information on chinchilla care, bonding, quarentining, and introduction processes.
I figured it certainly wouldn't hurt and might discourage her from emailing me again. The sad thing is that she may find someone out there to agree to her idiotic idea.


Answer:
I am by no means saying don't go with your gut on this, but wanted to point out that this person's request may not be as outlandish as you think. If they are fairly new to chins and just getting suggestions off what they read, I've seen some pretty big names in the chin world suggest that people ask for the very thing this person is asking.

Off the top of my head, Betti Cogswell (aka chinmom) is one of those people. I've seen her reply to posts in forums suggesting the person find a breeder willing to work with them if the chins don't get along and I've also seen her suggest that the person try taking their chin to the breeder's house to see how they get along with different chins.

I'm not necessarily saying that I agree with these suggestions, but I'm thinking that maybe this person contacting you guys is taking their advice from someone else who has this philosophy. Maybe a bit of educating would help them see the light.