And because I might otherwise forget, given my memory problems…
We used to have a hamster from time to time… first we got Lissie, and then Caribou, and then Annie. For Lissie we tried to get her playmates… Stuart and George. They were both sickly little guys so they didn’t make it long. Lissie died after choking on something, Caribou was overly sensitive to temperature fluctuations, and Annie died of old age.
So it’s been almost a year since we had any hamsters. Every time we go to the pet store we look at the cats and the hamsters. Dave knows I like having the tiny furbies around, and he likes them too, they bring so much life and light to the home. Yeah our four cats bring us plenty of joy and I don’t *have* to have a tiny furbie, but I also always have room in my heart for them.
So Thursday night I had to go to Pet Smart to get Josie some pill pockets for her medicine. I stopped by and visited all the cats, who were all sleeping, and then went and looked at the hamsters. There was a black gerbil that came out and saw me, and it was like he picked me! I sent Dave a txt on my way there asking what he’d think about another hamster, and then saw this gerbil and sent him a couple pics. He responded that he was in a really bad mood, and now was not the time. So I just went home.
I sat down and talked to him, and he vented a lot about his work day, and how some things have been festering for a long time. I think he got a lot of steam out, and then the discussion went back to the gerbil. He wanted to know why I wanted one, why the four cats weren’t enough, and I explained they were enough, but that I had room in my heart for more. He’s always worried about the emotional attachment, and how sad I get when we lose them. I told him that’s just the circle of life. He said I could go get the little guy if I wanted, so I did.
He seemed to be doing really well, and Clyde was absolutely fascinated by him. He stayed up all night watching him, just sitting by the cage watching. He wasn’t trying to hurt him, so we concluded he may be trying to be the bodyguard.
Last night we did a little more reading, and turns out they have a much shorter lifespan when living solitary. That it’s best, almost necessary, to get two at once. So we talked, and agreed we should go get his brother.
I raced to the pet store, for some reason worried his brother had already been adopted. I got there and he looked so miserable. He was breathing heavily and looked downright depressed. I knew that he would perk up once he saw his brother again, so went ahead and brought him home.
It only took a few minutes of them sniffing each other and they were playing in the cage, and they slept together last night. They remembered each other, and we can tell a difference in their moods now that they’re back together.
So, now we have two little furbies, and Clyde is still absolutely fascinated. Stormy seems a little scared of them, but curious. Dinia just doesn’t care one way or another, but does go and watch them from time to time. Josie has been sleeping a lot, but perks up when one of them is crawling on her. She thinks they’re her babies.
So, there’s the story… just wanted to type it all out to make sure that, over time, I don’t forget.
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