Gizmo and Gus make a connection with kids
Doylestown Public Library branch assistant Cathy Kiel cares for the library’s guinea pigs: Gizmo and Gus.
Seven-year-old Sophia Holm dangled dandelion leaves through the opening of the large cage on display at the Doylestown Public Library, feeding one of the library’s two pet guinea pigs: Gizmo and Gus.
“That one looks super fluffy,” Holm said, pointing to Gizmo.
Holm said she sometimes comes to the library with her grandmother in the summer, and she always stops to see the guinea pigs.
“I sure would like to have one,” she said. “It’s kind of surprising; you usually see animals at the zoo.”
The guinea pigs have lived at the library for a couple years, according to Cathy Kiel, branch assistant. “We found them as rescues from a website through Petfinder online,” she said.
Kiel said Gizmo and Gus were replacements for guinea pigs they previously had that passed away. “We went a couple weeks without any, and it just seemed too quiet,” she said.
Branch assistant Lynn Laughner said, “The guinea pigs are just a fixture in here now. We wouldn’t know what to do without them.”
The guinea pigs look like large, long-haired hamsters, and like hamsters, they are a species of the rodent family.
They have short legs and don’t have a tail, and their whiskers are always going.
“The average life span of a guinea pig is typically around five or six years,” Laughner said.
Laughner said the guinea pigs are awake during the day and sleep at night.
“They have to have a big enough cage that has somewhere for them to hide,” Laughner said.
The guinea pigs’ cage is filled with alfalfa pellets, Timothy hay and something to chew on such as wood and cardboard.
“It’s very important for them to have something to chew on,” Kiel said, “because their teeth always keep growing.”
Kiel and Laughner take turns cleaning the pigs’ cage, and they brush them and keep their toe nails trimmed.
“They really are pretty spoiled,” Laughner said.
Laughner said the guinea pigs have a personality of their own. “They really like socialization. The more you fuss on them, the more they respond,” she said. “Gus is outgoing, and Gizmo is louder. Gus likes to have his head scratched, and Gizmo likes for you to stroke his back.”
Kiel said the tradition of having guinea pigs began when her own children were in middle school and one of their teachers had the children be the pet caretakers of class guinea pigs for the summer.
“We brought them in to the library so more people could enjoy them,” Kiel said, “and we never looked back.”
Kiel said Gus and Gizmo are always a hit at the children’s story time. “It’s neat to be able to make that connection with the kids, to tie in some real-life experience to books they might read,” she said. “Usually they get so excited they want to have one as a pet of their own, but the parents prefer to have them here at the library.”
Another way the library piques kids’ interest is they have a “Dear Gus and Gizmo” mailbox where kids can deposit letters they’ve written to the guinea pigs.
“We post their letters on the bulletin board by the cage with a response we’ve written,” Kiel said.
Kiel said this is a good way to encourage writing skills early on.
“It is very good practice for them,” Kiel said, “and it’s fun.”
Kiel said the staff has fun dressing up Gus and Gizmo for the holidays with knit scarves and hats and featuring them on the library’s Facebook page and the Wayne County Library System’s wcpl.info website.
Even when a guinea pig passes, Kiel said it’s a good lesson on the circle of life. “Usually if you just keep it matter of fact,” she said, “the kids can usually deal with it.”
And for the Doylestown Library, it will only be a matter of time until another guinea pig moves in.
The Doylestown Public Library is located at 169 N. Portage St. in Doylestown.