A wandering dog in Cowaramup ruined a birthday present for young Aamos Peltonen when it mauled his two pet guinea pigs to death on Thursday.
Aamos received his two guinea pigs, which he named Cookie and Cream, for his eighth birthday but, just after celebrating his ninth, he had to bury his pets.
His father, Leif Hedstrom, is calling on dog owners to make sure their animals are locked up or on leads to prevent more backyard pets becoming victims.
Mr Hedstrom was at home with his son when he saw a dog wandering past the window with one of the pet guinea pigs in his mouth.
“It was a big dog like a husky,” he said.
“I saw the dog walking with the guinea pig in his mouth and ran after it.
“I’m used to big dogs so I wrestled it and it dropped the guinea pig and I got the number of the owner off its collar.”
After retrieving the first guinea pig he discovered the other one dead in their back yard.
“He [Aamos] was just crying,” Mr Hedstrom said.
“It was lucky my daughter wasn’t there to see it.
“I talked to Aamos and explained that the dog didn’t know what it was doing and he’s starting to let it go.”
Augusta Margaret River Shire rangers were notified about the incident but Mr Hedstrom did not push for a fine to be issued to the dog owner.
“I just wanted to report it in case the dog had a history,” he said.
“The owner was very apologetic and offered to buy Aamos a replacement.”
Aamos received his new guinea pigs on Friday.
Since moving to his new Cowaramup home Mr Hedstrom has noticed a large number of wandering dogs in the area.
“It’s about dog owners being responsible for their animals,” he said.
