There and Back Again - A Hamster's Tale

Almost 2 years ago, we braved a winter blizzard to trek to the local pet store.  Our six-year-old daughter had been saving up her dollars and finally had enough to buy a hamster.  She wanted a pet so badly, and we thought a hamster would be a pretty safe first pet.  Low maintenance, doesn't eat much, just sits in a cage...so we said yes!

How much trouble could a hamster be?  Besides, it was soooo cute!

So, after following the pet store guy's advise, our daughter picked an adorable butterscotch-colored, long-haired hamster.  His little pink nose sniffled all the air holes on the way home, much to our daughters' delight.

My husband carefully assembled the colorful plastic cage with all the cool trimmings with the "help" of our children (ages 6, 4, and 2 at the time).  They were even excited about putting the bedding in the cage and filling the cute little bowl with seeds.  The little water bottle was filled to the brim with fresh water.

We were ready!!

Since then, I think our dear friend, Frodo, has escaped a half a dozen times.  We have set up numerous contraptions, bucket traps, and trails of seeds throughout the house.  He has returned every time so far.   Usually we find him snuggled in his tower, asleep, the next morning, and we all breathe a sigh of relief.


Each time I find myself hoping and praying he will return because I just can't stand the thought of my daughter being heartbroken by the disappearance (or worse) of her favorite little ball of fur.  And...he's really become part of the family.  How did that happen?  I guess when we spend enough time around someone, they become part of our crew.  Our daily life.

So his most recent disappearance (two days ago) was my fault.  Uh huh.  I take the blame for this one.  Usually, my daughter is lectured about putting the cage lid on correctly, etc. but this time I did it.  I went over to his cage to say "hello" one night and decided to put some extra food in and give him a yogurt drop.  We are friends, even if he isn't my pet. 

The next morning, as my husband was eating his breakfast, we heard a strange metallic "scritch scritch" sound.  It took a split second to identify it - we had heard this before.  When Frodo had been out of his cage!  I quickly checked his cage and - where I had safely reinstalled the lid the night before, the lid now hung askew.  (The million-dollar word that means it was hanging crooked.  Arg!)  Oh no!  I had let the hamster out!

To add to the fun of having a hamster loose in the house, the kids had recently learned the song,
"Who Let the Dogs Out?"

So our 5-year-old daughter ran around the house singing:
"Who Let the Hamster Out?  Mom! Mom! Mom!"

Well, it was true, but I put the kibosh on the song after the 6th repeat.

I do have limits, you know.

Later in the day, I went grocery shopping and picked up some easy stuff to make for dinner.  I knew I'd be tired when I got home and needed something quick that everyone likes.  Pizza anyone?  So I heated up the stove and prepped our frozen pizzas on their non-stick pans.  I popped them in the oven, smugly congratulating myself on a job well done.  Grocery shopping and dinner in under 2 hours - I rock!!

And then - it dawned on me.

The hamster was in the oven this morning.  We hadn't seen it since.  I just turned up the oven to 400 degrees.

Gulp!

I think I might have fried the hamster!!!

I quickly texted my husband for moral support, or for him to tell me that he had seen the furry wonder elsewhere in the house.  No such luck.  Just an "Uh oh."

I'm DOOMED.  I'm the worst mother of the year.
I just lost and incinerated my child's favorite pet in the world.

While I approached the subject by not saying anything and hoping for the best during dinner, my husband thought it would be best to sort of test the waters with our daughter.  "You have been very lucky - your hamster has returned every time.  Sometimes hamsters don't return, and the owners never see them again."  I thought it was a rather gentle approach, a careful testing of the waters.

Speaking of waters, the floodgates opened and our daughter was an instant emotional mess.

OK - time for Plan B.  Hope and pray that the hamster reappears.  Have you ever had to pray for a pet?  I feel slightly ridiculous, but God knows our hearts and he knows when even one sparrow falls, so I am certain he heard my heartfelt prayers yesterday.

How do I know?

While we were watching a movie last night, both my husband and I thought we saw a small, furry critter scuttling across the kitchen floor.  Butterscotch colored.  Poofy and slow-moving.  I crawled quietly on my hands and knees and...there he was, trying to next in a tangle of vacuum hose.  I have never been so happy to see a rodent in my life!  He didn't bake in the oven!  He was ALIVE!!!  

I scooped him up and put him back in his cage, the properly reinstalled the lid.

I wasn't the worst mom in the world after all.

I hadn't killed our child's first and most loved pet.

Frodo is the most aptly named hamster I know.  He left his life of comfort for adventure, faced utter peril, survived despite terrible odds, and has returned back to his life of yogurt drops and a cozy nest.  You know - when I checked on him this afternoon, I could've sworn I could make out teeny tiny writing on one of the wood shavings.  It said, "There and Back Again..."