Recently, the beloved class pet, Professor Potato, passed away. The guinea pig was loved by students and staff all across the school and will forever have a place in many people’s hearts.
According to Ms. Pearce, Professor Potato stopped eating and drinking four days before he passed. Knowing this was strange, he was taken to the vet, where they told Ms. Pearce that he didn’t have much time left. He was extremely old for a guinea pig, turning 12 sometime this school year. That’s the equivalent of being a 120-year-old human.
Professor Potato was originally owned by Ms. Light, a fifth-grade teacher. However, when she moved to Florida after the 2022-2023 school year, he was given to Ms. Pearce, who currently teaches fourth grade. When Ms. Light moved, Potato was quite old, and Ms. Light knew that a move across the country with a guinea pig of that age could cause unnecessary stress that could ultimately shorten his lifespan.
Luckily though, Professor Potato did quite well when shifting to a new classroom. Ms. Pearce said that “he’s happy whenever he’s around kids.” She also said that the guinea pig took a liking towards her because she “reminded him of Ms. Light.”
Thankfully, Professor Potato lived a very good life. He was at school every day with Ms. Light and sometimes got taken home with a student for the weekend. When he was given to Ms. Pearce, she made the decision to only take him to school on days when it wasn’t too hot or too cold outside. The reason for this was just because he was quite old and she wanted to do what was best for him. He loved snacks, especially carrots and hay, which he ate two whole servings of almost every day. Ms. Pearce said her favorite memory with him was “taking him to a family reunion where he played outside with all of the kids.”
While losing Professor Potato was hard on many, at least he was able to live a very long and very happy life. Ms. Pearce believes that the reason he lived so long was because he got to hang out with kids who loved him all the time, which made him so happy. His class loved him so much that after he passed, they decorated his cage with notes and drawings, saying how much they loved and missed him.
