OLD TOWN, Maine — Old Town Elementary School's library pet guinea pig has become the new school attraction.
"Dumbledorable" found a home in the library in April after a student donated the guinea pig to the school library overseen by librarian Michelle Reesman.
"I really do love what it has brought to the library. Just the power of joy, I guess, because kids are so just happy around this guinea pig," Reesman said.
While a library pet may seem small, Reesman said she's seen Dumbledorable play a big role at the school. She said he serves as an outlet for some kids who need relief, and he has even helped some kids break out of their shell.
"There are students that have behaviors and, before the behavior escalates, this is a first stop to kind of calm students down," she said.
"It kind of makes me happier," 2nd grade student Morgan Guenther said.
In April, Reesman involved all the students in the school to help decide the name, which had to be related to a book character. At a school assembly, kids voted by screaming and shouting, and Dumbledorable got the loudest roar.
"When I heard they were getting a guinea pig I was so excited because, well, they're just really soft and I've seen pictures of them and they're really cute," Heidi Carlson, a 3rd grader, said. "He's really sweet."
Dumbledorable joined a pet turtle already in the library, which isn't quite as snuggly as a guinea pig.
"He's really cute and sometimes I just want to squish him," 4th grader Nialaya Ouellette said. "He kind of just brings me company, and whenever I'm sad he always brings me joy."
"I'd say he'd bring happiness, a lot of squeaks, and definitely some nibbles," a student, Carter, said.
Reesman said it's brought her joy seeing Dumbledorable fill the library with smiling faces, as she said saying good morning to the guinea pig is often the first place the students go in the morning.
"I love for this place to be the heart of the school, and I think the guinea pig is just another piece to it that kind of brings the kids together," she said.