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New guinea pig starts preschool at Murray RoadBy Latrobe City Council - 17th October 2005 - Back to News Returning to preschool after the holiday break is exciting for most young children, but for Murray Road preschoolers, returning to kinder has meant the excitement of welcoming a new preschool pet, together with a few additional surprises.
Prior to the holidays, a new guinea pig had been offered to the preschool to replace ‘Maxi’, who disappeared from the Newborough preschool during a weekend in August, and was never found.
A Moe resident, Mrs Norma Clarke, who had read of the children being distraught at the loss of their guinea pig, offered the preschool a replacement. However, with the preschool break imminent, it was decided to wait until the new term to welcome the new pet.
In the meantime, asked to think up a name for their new guinea pig, the children suggested ‘Rosie’ though doubts went through the mind of preschool director Debra Keay as to the appropriateness of the name, given that Mrs Clarke later revealed she thought ‘Rosie’ was a boy.
Two weeks can be a long time in guinea pig terms, and with the holidays over, Debra contacted Mrs Clarke again, only to be told that Rosie was now unlikely to be a boy as SHE was obviously pregnant, and did the preschool still want to take her. Debra said yes.
"Rosie gave birth to three little guinea pigs on Sunday, and when the children arrived at preschool on Monday to meet Rosie for the first time, they were welcomed by not one guinea pig, but four," Debra explained.
"Guinea pigs are born with their fur and are incredibly active for one-day olds. We had expected them to stay close to their mum in the hutch and sleep all day, but within hours on the Monday they were off exploring the pen without mum, and seemed quite happy to be handled. The children thought they were wonderful," Debra said.
Debra said that the preschool parents had been quick to offer to provide new homes for any of the guinea pigs that the preschool couldn’t handle. "We won’t be keeping them all, and we have about a month to decide which ones to offer for adoption, before Rosie’s litter is likely to start breeding.
"The children are absolutely thrilled that the preschool has a new pet and we’re very grateful to Mrs Clarke who provided us with Rosie," Debra added.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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