Oh Hamster!! Why did you leave me??!!

It's been over ten years now since my hamster died. Only recently, have I been able to talk about it...

His name was, 'Hamster', I thought it was somewhat appropriate although many people didn't think so; they thought he deserved a more human sounding name, but I knew that he wasn't human, and so did he.

He was a Russian hamster who enjoyed life as much as say a crocodile or a rare African antelope. I remember that he used to keep me up at night, spinning his little wheel until the daylight hours, then he would carry on through the day; he was an exercise freak. It really is a priviledge to be the owner of such a fitness fanatic; but exercise is what eventually killed the little guy when his tiny heart just couldn't handle it any more.

One morning, I came out of the shower, I was naked, Hamster was staring at me funny. I was embarassed. It's never easy to explain to your pet, when they accidently see you nude. I think he was more shocked than surprised, I mean, there was no hot water left, and the cold water left my breeding parts in a state of shrunken indecision. He eventually forgave me; he had to, otherwise I would have cut off his food supply.

Winters weren't so harsh and miserable when Hamster was around. When the gas company decided to cut me off, I would have frozen, if it weren't for Hamster to keep my hands warm.

He would often pee in my palms as a way to thank me for being such a kind master, or kick his poop flavoured tic tacs out of the cage to get my attention.

He taught me how to store food in my mouth and take it from one room to another where I would spit it out and eat it later. I taught him to fly, but it took him a while to learn how to break his fall; the good thing was, that he was determined to learn to fly, never gave up.

One morning, I came downstairs to notice that there was no activity in the cage. Silence, as silent as a dead hamster. He was dead. As stiff as a stick. Hard as a door knob. I scooped him up, dug a shallow grave for him, placed him gently inside and covered him slowly with the dirt that once gave life to man. I poured water onto the grave, hoping that he might grow into a beautiful oak tree, oneday.