the flower bed

My little girl's hamster died today.

A little over 2 years ago we brought a little black bear hamster into our home. After a week of getting bit, my daughter wanted to take her back to the pet store and choose another friendlier one. Luckily we didn't, because the next morning, a week before Christmas, Koda gave birth to 7 baby hamsters. All the babies looked like little chipmunks. We decided to keep one, and Merrygold joined our family.

Both hamsters loved to be held and cuddled, as well as run around in the big ball. Merrygold was especially social - if you put your hand in her cage, she'd crawl in, expecting extra attention. They liked getting special treats, such as alfalfa sprouts and chick weed, along with the occasional apple or mango.

Merrygold had a mini-vacation at my friend's house when we went away for holidays. No-one knows exactly what happened, but somehow she broke her back. A trip to the vet showed that she had *some* feeling in her back feet, so there was a *slight* chance she *could* regain some use of her legs. As best as a child can grasp it, my daughter understood that there was hope, but realistically, Merrygold would probably never walk properly again. Regardless, she could drag herself along with her front feet, which meant she was still able to crawl into our hands for cuddles.

Within weeks, we discovered that we had a little miracle. Merrygold never regained full use of her one leg, but she could crawl, walk and climb anywhere in her cage. Running a finger along her back, you could feel a lump where she'd injured herself, and her body still "J'ed" occasionally, but she was mobile, which was a lot more than we expected.

Unlike her mama, Merrygold wasn't much of an escape artist, but she did manage to get out once. I could hear her in the ducts, and I knew she'd never be able to get out on her own. I hated the thought of her dying somewhere out of reach, all alone. I eventually thought to call my Dad, who told me to check behind the filter in the furnace. I wasn't sure if I wanted to - it's downstairs, and I figured if that's where she was, there's no way she could survive the fall onto bare cement.

I shouldn't have underestimated her. As soon as I unscrewed the cover, I could hear little scritches behind the filter. Pulling it aside, I was surprised to see Merrygold, looking none the worse for her ordeal, peek out and crawl back into my hand.

The last several days, Merrygold has been breathing hard and irregularly. She was still bright-eyed and eating and drinking normally, but we were worried nonetheless. When we arrived home this evening, it was with great sadness that we discovered she had died in her sleep.

Tomorrow, she'll join Koda and the others in my garden.

Sometimes I really hate being an adult.

This isn't Merrygold, but it's the closest I could find to what she looked like.

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Merrygold
Dec 19, 2004 - Jan 27, 2007
RIP[/align]