Guinea pig saves puppy's life
MONROE TWP.
Guinea pig hailed as hero of pup choking at shelter
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
BY ANDREA CICCOCIOPPO
Of Our Carlisle Bureau
A dog might be considered man's best friend, but a Guinea pig has turned out to be the best friend of a local dog.
Snowball, an albino Guinea pig at the West Shore shelter of the Humane Society of the Harrisburg Area, is being called a hero in the rescue of a choking pit bull-mix puppy.
Staff at the Monroe Twp. shelter heard "frantic squealing, banging and shuffling" from the Guinea pig's cage. When they went to check on Snowball, they discovered the dog in a crate across the hall had tried to escape and her head was wedged through the door. The dog, Bianca, was choking and struggling to remain conscious.
"The dog apparently had gotten excited and managed to push her head through the [crate] door," said Joe Halko, a staff member who was on duty at the time.
Halko said that usually when the rodents squeal, no one pays much attention. But this time the Guinea pig seemed unusually agitated, so volunteers and staff went to check it out, he said.
"If it wasn't for the Guinea pig, we'd not have known and the dog probably would have choked to death," Halko said.
Bianca suffered no effects from the incident, he said.
Snowball has been at the shelter since early December. Bianca has been a resident for about two weeks. They were in the same hallway because of renovations at the shelter.
Both animals were rewarded for their ordeal. "The dog got lots of hugs, gave us lots of kisses and the hero enjoyed two carrots," shelter volunteer Claudi Luci said.
ANDREA CICCOCIOPPO: 249-2006 or [email protected]
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