Welcome to the Family, Emily Elizabeth

I wasn't planning on getting another hamster. We recently lost our last one, Petey, who was arguably the greatest hamster ever. But there she was - all alone in a cage - missing an eye.

Emily Elizabeth

My grandkids were with me last week when we stopped at a pet store for - well - pet stuff. Now this is the same pet store from which I got Petey, our beloved hamster, who passed away a few months ago. Petey came to live with us in a similar fashion, only his problem was his size - large. So large, in fact, the smaller male hamsters considered him a threat to their "hamsterness" and picked on him.

The pet store was giving him away. Of course I took him. After getting all of the required items a hamster must have (remember, they are rodents whose relatives live happily in sewers) my "free" hamster set me back $200.

No more bullies in Petey's life. Unless you consider sticky toddler hands a threat. Petey lived a good life until one day he was just gone. No symptoms - just gone. We all attended a memorial for him and he was buried in the family burial plot AKA the front yard under the oak trees.

Darling Petey - RIP

I kept all of his stuff hoping, someday, my grands would get a hamster of their own. So, when we all walked into the pet store and there was a lone hamster in its own cage, it was deja vu all over again. The answer to my question, "why?" was that she had lost an eye in a skirmish. Yikes. I looked at my husband who was watching the whole thing, slowly shaking his head, no. I had already formed a plan to come back later without him.

So, I had to go back to the pet store yesterday. I had decided, if the hamster was still there, she would come home with me. Of course she was still there. I told them I would take her and there was much rejoicing because I'm pretty sure the pet store folks figured one of them would end up with her. I mean, even though it would be a great lesson for a child, most people want their kid's hamster to have two eyes and all of its appendages.

Well, their loss. Emily Elizabeth (Emmy) does not miss her right eye one bit. She cracks me up because, sometimes she keeps the good one shut, and just putters around her luxury digs like she's testing herself. And energy? She has a joie de vivre that puts even Boo! to shame. Petey was laid back - even lazy - but she is a tiny dynamo! I love her already.

Emmy is so energetic, in fact, the car ride home rivaled something out of a Fast and Furious movie. She was furiously chewing her way out the cheap cardboard box as I was driving home as fast as I could, using my cell phone as a barrier to keep her in the box and not loose in the car!

When I peeled into the driveway (reminding myself to keep my mouth shut the next time I see a neighbor speeding up the street, because one never knows if they also have a hamster threatening to jump to freedom in their car) and ran into the garage to unearth Petey's old aquarium, I encountered some challenges.

First of all, I have the upper body strength of cooked pasta and the back of a - well - my back is shot. Second, we are pack rats who have accumulated 30 years of junk; most of it stacked, like something out of the Cat in the Hat, in the garage. As my car was idling in the driveway, I was sweating buckets trying to solve my problem. I finally said, "screw it" and gave one good tug on the 50 gallon aquarium; freeing it from its place on the garage floor in between the a/c unit and my kids' old, red wagon. I mentally planned on taking an extra strength Ibuprofen when the dust settled.

I quickly set the aquarium down and plunked little Emmy, box and all, into it. Ironically, once she had freedom (or the illusion of it,) she would not leave the box. For someone in such a hurry to get out of the damn thing, there she was, peeking her nose out then popping back in to the safety of the box. I knew then and there Emmy was perfect for our family. She joins the ranks of those who live to drive me completely insane.

Boo! giving me her classic,
"You never let me do anything!" look.
Oh, yes, I won't let her terrorize Emmy.

Speaking of which, while I was setting Emmy up in her new digs, on top of my desk in the living room, I kept Dash and Boo! behind closed doors. I did not need their "help." It was bad enough moving curious Rags out of the way, but they are less intrepid. Far, far, less intrepid.

What did she bring home now?

I don't care. Hamsters smell.

 

Baby Dash stalking Petey

When the time came to introduce them to Emmy, I knew the routine from when Petey was with us. Boo! took her place on the screen top of the tank and sat there staring at the poor creature; looking like a menacing sphinx.  The upside of this new adventure - they have finally decided the lizard is old news and this new creature is way more entertaining.