Guinea pig's extreme makeover trauma

Half of the guinea pig's back was shaved and his white fur dyed pink and blue. Photo / Ashburton Guardian

A guinea pig has been left traumatised after being stolen, shaved, dyed pink then boxed up and shoved in a stranger's letterbox.

Wee Yam, the normally brown and white guinea pig, was taken from his cage at his Ashburton owner's home yesterday morning.

Sandra Smith then got a phone call from someone saying he had been found in a box in a letterbox.

In the time he was gone he had undergone an unwanted makeover, with half of his back shaved and his white fur dyed pink and blue.

With half of his fur missing and shivering after a cold night outside, Mrs Smith put Wee Yam in a cage in front of a heater to keep him warm before giving him a bath and trying to wash the colour out.

Much of the blue came out but the pink proved a bit more difficult, and there's little that can be done about his shaved back.

It's not the first time Mrs Smith's animals have been the target of thieves.

She had a rabbit taken once and that too was found in a letterbox.

Mrs Smith breeds guinea pigs and has had about 8000 over the years. She said they'd given people great joy as they walked past her property.

"If we've got to make it totally thief-proof a lot of people will miss out," she said.