ivy pomeroy, 9

I just got a guinea pig and he is just the best. I also have a cat, two dogs, several fish and chickens. My guinea pig likes to cuddle and play. He makes the cutest noises and he is so warm when he lays on top of you. I have an American guinea pig so he is shorthaired. He sheds a lot but is very fun to groom.

My “gangster” chickens get very dirty and it’s pretty gross giving them a bath, but when they’re drying they are very nice to snuggle. Speaking of snuggles, I have a chicken named Topper and before she goes to bed she needs a hug and a song. Isn’t that cute?

My chickens sometimes try to come into the house, but they usually don’t make it in. Although, one time a chicken made it into the house and it was on the stove! Luckily, the stove was not on and the chicken was not fried. I have eight chickens and sometimes they drive me crazy. When I watch TV, two of my hens squawk like they are dying but when I go outside to check on them they come chasing me into the house and start squawking again like nothing ever happened. Another one of my chickens is named Speedy and man is he fast! When I try to grab him and put him to bed in the coop, he zooms all the way to the other side of the yard. Sometimes it takes a really long time to just get him nearby the coop.

I collect their eggs, but I don’t like to eat their eggs, (don’t tell my chickens I don’t like eggs) but I do like when they hatch. The eggs take 21 days to hatch and when they do they must be kept inside and kept warm. If the chicken eggs are not kept warm they will not hatch.

I have to clean the chicken coop and shovel out the pen because if I don’t, the chickens will sink in the snow and not be able to get out. I live on a large amount of land and I have a 2-mile trail going back into the woods, and one time I put my favorite chicken on a leash and took the chicken on a walk through the woods. We had to stop for lunch.

I also have two dogs, Honey and Riley. Honey is a Rhodesian Ridgeback. I’m glad she doesn’t hunt lions like her ancestors did. Riley is a black Lab and she is way overweight (she’s like 500 pounds). Riley farts like a tugboat. Honey is my favorite because she’s way less fat.

I have a cat too, but he is kind of lame. All he really does is eat and sleep all day. My cat is black and part Siamese and part mystery? He loves being brushed and cries if he doesn’t have water.

My fish are small and vary in colors. I have two catfish and they’re really cool to look at but boring to watch. My small fish are tiny and one time when I was cleaning the tank I scooped up some seaweed and I had no idea that there was a dead fish inside the tangled seaweed. I dumped it into the sink and the fish actually went down the drain.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ivy Pomeroy is 9 years old. She is in fourth grade at Sandy Knoll Elementary School and loves to read and figure skate.