Theft at the petting zoo
Twenty-year-old Louie has been robbed!
A thief has been caught red handed at the petting zoo during the 50th anniversary of Fieldays.
Bred from a German riding pony, 20-year-old Louie the pony has had his hay stolen and eaten right in front of him by his young neighbour.
Almost 1-year-old, Poppy the goat has been sticking her head through the fence into Louie’s hay bag despite her own feed bag being full.
“It’s very funny because Louie does not seem to notice,” Marion Rogerson said. “I’ve been trying to take a photo.”
She runs Sam and his Farmyard Friends, a mobile service that offers a range of animals for children to meet and interact with.
This is their third year at Fieldays after being invited by the event to bring their mobile service to the masses.
The farmyard this year consists of Louie the pony, Poppy the goat, Molly the sheep, Charlotte the pig, Polly the Flemish rabbit, Bilbo the lop ear rabbit and Alf and Squeaky the guinea pigs.
“Animal safety is paramount,” Rogerson said. “The usual food, water and making sure no one hurts them.”
Rogerson’s children Liam, 14, Ethan, 12, Kyra, 11, and Heath, 9, act as the petting zoo security to help Mum make sure that no one hurts their loved ones.
“You’d be surprised about how many children don’t know how to behave around animals,” Rogerson said. “We are teaching children to pat animals nicely.”
At the end of each day of the Fieldays, the team packs up and heads home.
“Everyone goes home every day,” Rogerson said. “Otherwise it’s too stressful for them. They need to go home and unwind.”
Most of the animals have been rescued from various places.
“If you can rescue, it’s good,” Rogerson said.
Rogerson said she enjoys seeing everyone interacting kindly with their barnyard friends.
“Yesterday, Liam was holding one of the guinea pigs and a woman was quizzing him,” Rogerson said. “She thought he was going to run off with Alf [the guinea pig] while my back was turned.”
Every outing is a new experience for the barnyard team and their visitors. Especially when they are out, and the chickens lay.
“We still get heaps of kids that don’t know they [the chickens] lay eggs,” Rogerson said.
Seven-year-old Lucy Johnson was excited to see the guinea pigs but was shocked to see the pony.
“The guinea pigs are so cute,” Johnson said. “Is that a horse over there? I’ve never seen one before. Do they bite?”
Rogerson said that more than half their visitors have never seen a horse and only a few have ridden one.
“When we visit schools, early childhood centres and events such as birthday parties, we offer pony rides,” Rogerson said. “Louie has done thousands of first pony rides.”
“Safety of the animals is the most important thing and if they’re not happy they let us know.”
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