Hammy DIED!

As some of you may recall, I've mentioned my daughter's hamster, "Hammy" quite a few times, as well as in the chat room when I was chatting while I saw the cat playing with something out of the corner of my eye. I thought it was a sock. Next thing I know, daughter comes in telling me Hammy's missing. To the delight of myself and the rest of the chatters in the room that night, Hammy was found safe and sound, narrowly escaping the cat jaws of death.

But Hammy was old (3 and 1/2) and now, a month later, he's been found, curled up in a sleeping position, passed away. My daughter loved Hammy so much, cared for him better than most people care for their kids. She cried buckets last night, it was so hard to console her. She wrote Hammy a tearjerker poem, which we will frame.

Robin has agreed to build Hammy a casket and stain it. How's that for a stepdad?:) Shelby will make a small satin pillow for his little hamster head, and a little cushion inlay for the casket.

Last Fall, my mom's church had "The Blessing of the Animals". The congregation brought forth their pets to be blessed. Hammy was among them, so I was able to tell Shelby with certainty, that Hammy is in Heaven now, running around, stuffing things into his cheeks, and taking naps in the sun.

There will be a formal funeral, and all the kids on the street are expected to be in attendance, after which refreshments will be served. Being a minister's daughter, I will find the appropriate passages from the Bible to read, and Shelby will deliver the eulogy.

I'm sure the next question out of her mouth will be..."Mom, can I get another one???"

Aw. that sucks, we had our dying gerbils incident last year and I know how you all must feel, its so sad when those little animals pass. We buried ours in a mason jar.
Hugzzz to Shelby.

I love hamsters. That's so sad. What a sweetheart Robin is to make a little casket. Awww... :(

As a child I had many dogs and I remember every one of them, their names, the funny stories about them, their personalities... it's very sad to loose an animal, but they stay with us forever.

WHITEROSE! Don't EVEN say what you're going to say! I KNOW what you're thinking! Hammy is NOT like the chipmunk! :D

LMAO POLLY!!!! You read my mind! :D

Polly, I'm sorry to hear about Hammy. It's sad when pets die.

We have a hamster named Hammy!!! He is really cute. When my 14-year-old received him as a gift, I never thought that I'd like hamsters. I've grown attached to him, though. Three days ago, he got loose and we couldn't find him. All of a sudden I saw all five of our cats in a large circle in the living room. I saw Hammy in the middle of them, sitting up on his hind legs! The cats didn't even touch him. I sure was glad about that.

Polly, do you have any tips about what I could use in his cage instead of that expensive hamster bedding stuff? Also, I don't know much about hamsters, but I give him cabbage leaves, pears, apples, carrots and lettuce along with his hamster food. He loves it.

Whisper, go into "Search" and type in "Hamster" and it'll give you websites with TONS of information on the little lovies. You know they only live 2-3 years, don't you? Our Hammy was ancient, at 3 and 1/2 years. Your cats circling him meant, they were all just deciding who was going to go first! It's amazing how many times our Hammy escaped the cat jaws of death. He should have been named "Lucky" instead.

Well, Shelby, being the extremely spoiled child that she is, talked me into buying her a baby guinea pig. She couldn't get another hamster, because she didn't want to replace Hammy (her logic). So now we have "Renie", a very cute, 3-week-old guinea pig who makes little squeals all the time. Renie comes complete with a colorful traveling case, so Shelby can take her everywhere she goes. One's not even cold in the ground yet, and another has become my daughter's latest obssession! I sure hope she's not like this with boys when she gets older!

Polly, I'm glad that you got that new pet for Shelby. She'll probably feel much better now. I had no idea at all that hamsters only live 2-3 years! You're going to crack up, but we have our Hammy in a big bird cage! He has tons of space, two wheels (we should use it for energy production - he goes all night long), and everytime someone comes over and asks what kind of bird we have, we say "a hamster bird."

I feel your pain Polly. I once had a hamster and when he died, I thought my older brother was gonna kill himself! We got through it and buried him in the backyard in a little makeshift casket.

Two months ago, my cat Sophie passed away at the tender age of 11 and I about lost it myself!

It sucks when a pet passes away, but it's always a joy to bring in another one, while at the same time reminiscing on the memories of the deceased pet.


MEOW!

It's always tough to loose a pet and Hammy was kind of famous around here. I'm sorry he passed.

Guinea Pigs can be wonderful animals to have. We have a few of them when Eve was Shelby's age. Her guinea pig squeeled every time the refrigerator was opened . lol they are very wonderful and gentle pets just don't put your fingers around their mouths, they could be mistaken for a carrot. :) Enjoy the new pet!

Hugs Terry

Awwwwwwwww ... I as well am very sorry for your loss ... but let me know when you are done mourning (don't want to tell tyou while you are sad), but have I got a funny hampster story for you!

It's the story of "HAMDINI", a hampster my children had once ... but again, i don't want to impose while you are sad ... I will wait until after the funeral ...

dy

Polly...

I'm sorry to hear about Hammy, as you know. *Hugs*

Back when I was a young Dan_Shues, I had a guinea pig too. I named her Ginger.

Thing always loved to go to the bathroom on my stomach. I'd be there holding her and petting her and letting her nestle against my chest and stomach....and, I'd get this warm sensation on my front...

GAH!!!

She went back down into the cage, fast....

The funniest memory of her? WHen I was young, I had watched "Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2"...a horror movie. Well, I went to bed that night and was hearing noises...Jesus, I thought Mary Lou was coming to get me!! AAAAHHHH!! Turns out, Ginger had a SICK sense of humor *lol*....and was pushing her bowl around in the cage...

I think she was doing it on purpose! *LOL*

*Hugs*

Awwwwe, Polly, I'm sorry to hear it. No more "Hammie" stories. My condolences to your entire family.

Ya know, a lot of people just roll their eyes when people express grief over little "pocket pets". But yannow, we love them just as much as our larger pets.

A few of you know my parakeets both died in January when I moved into this old house I like to call "The Money Pit". One got diarrhea from the water, the other got a blast of carbon monoxide, apparently. In any case....my eight year old parakeets went off to birdie heaven. Darn it, I miss their singing so much. They loved watching "Barney" and "The Lawrence Welk" reruns. Now when the Lawrence Welk show comes on, I get all choked up. My little birdies would sway back and forth, bob up and down, and sing along with the show.

Sigh. So, I feel for ya girl. Btw...casket ideas.....even tho I am totally impressed that Robin the Wonder Man is building a casket....those of you who lose small pets might consider Crystal Lite containers. I found them to be perfect for my birdies. I rolled them in tiny quilts...then slid them right into the Crystal Lite containers...perfect fit.

Hugzzz
Kye

Thank you all so much for your thoughtful replies! Yes, I'm ready to hear some funny hamster stories! Escaping snake stories are funny too! (Put that thing back Danno, I wasn't talking about Trouser Snakes!)

Yes, Shelbers is totally absorbed with her new motherly duties to Renie. Apparently, Renie "can't" sleep unless Shelby is holding her. I told Shelby that that's because Renie is NOCTURNAL and that's why she doesn't sleep during the night, but will sleep while being held during the day. Shelby thinks I'm full of crap, as all 11-year-olds think of their mothers. Anyway, Renie is settled in nicely and Shelby is already demanding the "Princess Treatment" for her guinea pig (all the perks guinea pigs love) so I made her clean out the van and wash it!!! I had to work for my kids' perks, they have to work for their animals' perks!

Now how did I miss this?? I'm sorry to hear about Shelby's loss. We're about to lose our cat, believe me I know how you're feeling. I'm dreading having to go through the neighborhood funeral!