Dilemma: Scratchy Pig

Can you help Martha solve her dilemma?

Ok people quick question. Does anyone reading this have a pet? By which I mean the fluffy, smelly kind rather than the aquatic or insect variety. 🐶🐱🐭

It’s Jas. She’s asked me to look after her pet Guinea Pig, Scratchy while she’s on holiday.

The problem is, Scratchy and I just don’t get along. There I said it. We cannot stand each other. Frankly he scares me, with his beady eyes and those pointy whiskers. It’s like he’s out to get me! 😈

I bet famous naturalist Charles Darwin didn’t have to put up with this stuff.

I don’t want to let Jas down, especially after she helped with my ant farm last term, but a whole week with that monster? I can’t handle it. 😱

What do you think I should do? Look after the pet or try and get out of it? Has anyone else looked after a pet for a friend before? What advice can you give me on guinea pigs?

Tell me what to do, please!! 

Hmm. So this has been what you might call an interesting week. I really liked pinkmonkeypineapple and EmeraldMoonlight61's suggestion of asking someone else to help. It didn’t take me long to find a volunteer either- Alfie said he would do it. 😀

I wasn’t sure at first (the boy is kind of a walking disaster), but he clearly wanted to help. He even promised to text me regular updates about how Scratchy is doing. It seemed like the perfect plan.

Or so I thought until Alfie sent me this text message this morning. 😮

I just keep wondering, what would Darwin do? But since he died in 1882 I guess I’ll never know.

81% of you voted to 'Tell Jas the truth'. 19% of you voted to 'Buy a replacement Guinea pig'.

After counting and collating all that lovely data, an overwhelming number of you voted to tell Jas the truth.

I was all set to come clean until I saw an identical Scratchy Guinea Pig in the pet shop and, well I couldn’t resist. Scratchy 2 was identical to Scratchy in every way;- from the scary eyes to the vicious whiskers.

I felt sure Darwin would have approved so I returned to Jas’ house, ready to sneak the new pet into the hutch. But Jas and Alfie were already there! I had left it too late! 😱 😱 😱

However, imagine my surprise when I saw who they were both playing with!

Scratchy the guinea pig was back in his hutch! Completely safe and sound!

Turns out, when Alfie had talked about “fresh air” in his message, he didn’t mean Scratchy had escaped, he meant he had put him in his carry case and taken him to the park!  

It all worked out in the end though. When Jas saw me with my own guinea pig she just thought I’d gone and bought my own Scratchy! I decided not to tell her what really happened.

Besides, Scratchy 2 is kind of cute with his shiny eyes and his little twitchy whiskers. I think I’ll call him Darwin… 

Thanks for all of your help,

Martha