Reading Dewey reminded me of the guinea pigs we had at the Rossford Library. I loved taking care of the little guys but I constantly had to remind children to NOT a) bang on the cage b) feed the piggies erasers c) yell at the piggies d) any number of other things. One of the good things that we did do was start a ‘Buddy’ program—with parents’ permission, I worked with a couple of buddies at a time to introduce kids to pet ownership. Once a week, the buddies helped me clean the cages and then we all took some time to pet the guinea pigs and let them scamper about for a little supervised cage-free time.
When I was managing the DeMotte branch, someone abandoned a kitten in our parking lot—this briefly brought up the thought of having a library cat. Half of the staff wanted me to ask the Director, half did not. I personally love animals—and this kitten was beyond adorable—but I decided not to raise the question. Some people don’t like cats, some are severely allergic—and some lose their interest, particularly as the animal gets older—this was one of the hardest sections to read in Dewey. As he got older, thinner and more scraggly, people wanted to replace him.
