Elmo pulls a 705kg class-load of kids

Elmo had a heavy start to the morning - he pulled a class-load of Christchurch 10-year-olds, packed onto a trailer, around a playground.

The Alaskan Malamute competes in weight pulls around the South Island, and the 705 kilograms he shifted this morning was nothing compared to his 1005kg record.

Cathedral Grammar School year 4 and 5 pupils were surprised and excited by his visit.

''I never expected to be pulled by a dog on a trailer,'' Alice Abraham, 10, said.

''And I never expected to be on TV at the same time.'' Nine-year-old George Lill said the experience was ''quite spectacular''. ''I couldn't believe a dog pulled us - I didn't think it would.'' Grammar principal Malcolm Long said it was a morning that would go down in the school's history.

''It's amazing. The children are so excited.'' Elmo declined to comment to media, ahead of a competition in Timaru in the coming weeks.

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