cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

So on top of the general shitshow that has been this year so far, we lost our hamster yesterday. Mr. Samwise Hamgee was an excellent little buddy, who came a LONG way with us from his very skittish origins. By the end, he was regularly curling up into our hands to nap - holding on tightly to our fingers with his little front paws - and had many squeaky opinions which he shared with us vociferously. Seriously, I have never experienced such a chatty hamster, and that includes the childhood hamster I literally named Squeaks for her squeakiness. It will be very strange going back to quiet hamsters after this little guinea pig impersonator.

He was about six weeks shy of his second birthday, which put him in just under the average hamster lifespan. But he had some mysterious hammy health problems that started last September (we did take him to a vet, but they couldn't find anything to explain the VERY noticeable behavioral changes), so honestly, we're just thrilled he continued trucking along for so long with us. He was determined to make the most of his little life, and he brought a lot of joy to ours, and we miss him very much.



And we've already made arrangements to go pick up our next hamster from the same breeder next weekend, because life is short and these lil critters make ours so much better. So. That's something, anyway.