Fair Animals

September 2007
When one goes to the fair, they expect to see rides, cheap food, lots of animals, and sometimes tractor pulls. However, sometimes people do not look close enough at the things that should

not be ignored. One main thing that people, when they go to fairs over look, are the animals well-being. When I was little, every time I would go to the fair, I would win a fish and two days after bringing the little goldfish home, he would die. I would feed him, wipe his bowl out, but everyone of them die. Its not just fish that are treated badly at fairs but also the rabbits and guinea pigs given away as prizes. When I was able to see the ribs of the rabbits, it broke my heart, how can people be so cruel to animals letting them starve? I approached the man in charge of the stall and said, "Are those

your rabbits?" He wouldn't reply to me or even look at me for that matter. I was telling him that if the Animal Rights group found out he was trying to pass off starved animals as prizes, he would either be fined or sent to jail. Suddenly, he started speaking Spanish, as if he couldn't understand me. I told him if I win one time, then I get all of the animals. He just shook his head and to my surprise I won first throw at the rings. All in all I took home a gray rabbit, a white rabbit with black mascara, and three guinea pigs. The rabbits Jenny and Jan were so thin that they were able to fit through the one inch bars on their cages. I fed them dry food, greens, and some hay in order for them to pick back up their strength. Unfortunately, both of the rabbits died in a week. I think they were too far gone when I got them.
The guinea pigs on the other hand were very fascinating creatures. Of course they "oink" and "squeak" every five seconds but they were comical. He had them sexed by one of our local farmers, he confirmed that they were all males. 
When October came, they were the proper size of a guinea pig, not showing any ribs. They had so much energy especially when they went outside. They loved to run around in the grass and hide under some trees. Of course this area was fenced on all five sides, so they couldn't run away and birds were unable to catch them.
It was almost Christmas time. One of the guinea pigs was getting really fat. I thought

maybe the others aren't eating much, so I separated them in order for the other ones to get a little bigger. On Christmas day, I walked downstairs in order to say Merry Christmas to the guinea pigs, but to my surprise the really fat guinea pig had three babies in the night. That was one of the best Christmas miracles I have ever seen.