A man going for a night-time walk to clear his head before Christmas ended up rescuing a guinea pig from a charity clothes container.
The resident of Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, heard a squeaking sound coming from the container filled with clothing donations from local residents.
Police spokesman Jens Artschwager said in a statement from 22nd December obtained by Newsflash: “The guinea pig had all the luck in the world. Until then it appeared to have found a tragic end, but then the man saved the fluffy rodent from the clothing container.”
The police official emphasised that the man, who was not named, may have not noticed the animal had he worn earplugs or headphones during his stroll around 8pm on 21st December.
Artschwager explained however that he had instead heard the noise from inside the container, adding: “He opened the lid to find out what was going on. This way, he discovered the brown guinea pig sitting on a pile of clothes.”
The man managed to get the rodent out. He then called the police.
Herne Police said it was unclear whether the pet had been abandoned or mistakenly discarded.
Their statement said: “It spent the short drive to the station on the lap of officer Paula.
“After lots of stroking and cuddling, it was picked up by experts from a nearby animal rescue centre.”
The institution is currently looking to find a new owner for the guinea pig which survived its stay in the clothing container unharmed.
It is unclear how long the animal had already been situated inside before it was freed by the passerby.
In 2022, the 83.2 million residents of Germany kept 34.4 million pets.
This is an astonishing increase compared to 2007 when there were just 23.2 million pets in households in the Central European country.
Cats are the most popular pets of Germans (15.2 million), followed by dogs (10.6 million) and the group of 4.9 million small animals which comprises rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and mice.
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Story By: Thomas Hochwarter, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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