Chinchillas and guinea pigs and snakes, Oh my! Branford shelter open to all critters
BRANFORD — Miss Piggy is leading her five babies, born June 12, around the cage, while Hamilton and Hamlet, one of which is the dad, are across the room. Pig Newton, father to her first litter, has a cage to himself.
You might get the idea that this is a pet store or a farm, certainly not an animal shelter that houses dogs and cats.
But you’d be wrong. The animals in this convoluted family saga are guinea pigs, and they are among the current residents of the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter. It’s not your average shelter.
“The babies don’t have names yet because we don’t know if they’re boys or girls,” said Dawn Buffone, one of the shelter’s animal control officers. “When Mom came in, she was humongous.”
Five is a large number for a guinea pig litter.
It all started when the pet store told the guinea