Two Guinea Pigs Minus One Guinea Pig is Two Guinea Pigs?
In Switzerland you can rent a guinea pig as a companion for your newly widowed piggy. As reported, it is illegal to keep a single guinea pig in Switzerland.
So, if you had two of them and one died, technically you would have to get a new one (according to the law). Rather easy to get trapped in a never-ending rotation of guinea pigs!
Enter: Priska Küg. The Swiss animal lover leases guinea pigs as piggy partners. The guinea pigs are leased for a fee of around 50 Swiss Francs (about $49) and, when returned, you get half of the money back. Demand is high: Küg gets about two to three enquiries per week. Some of the guinea pigs stay for only a few weeks, others a few years.
See an interview with Priska Küg (only in Swiss-German):
References Küng, Priska “Infos” Leihmeerschweinchen Homepage http://www.leihmeerschweinchen.ch/seite2.htm (14.11.2016) Witte, Jens “Rent-A-Guinea Pig Service Takes Off in Switzerland” Spiegel from 20.09.2011 http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/hope-for-lonely-rodents-rent-a-guinea-pig-service-takes-off-in-switzerland-a-787336.html (16.11.2016) “Neue Tierschutzverordnung, Änderungen für Meerschweinchen” Kleintiere Schweiz http://www.kleintiere-schweiz.ch/index.cfm?Nav=902&ID=1439 (14.11.2016) “Meerschweinchen” Bundesamt für Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinärwesen BLV https://www.blv.admin.ch/blv/de/home/tiere/heim-und-wildtierhaltung/meerschweinchen.html (14.11.2016)