Hamster escape!

First of all I have to admit something ... it was my fault. Last night I rearranged the Rodent's tunnel tubes and cages. I failed to double check one joint apparently. When Hamster Boy woke up he looked at the new set up and pointed the now open joint to me. He did not, however, notice that the Rodent was not in her bedroom area. I am hoping he either did not notice or did notice and was afraid to mention the fact that she was missing. I am betting on the former as he went to school far too willingly for a boy who knows his hamster was missing. Lucky for me, my sisters were here. Between the 3 of us and a flashlight, we managed to follow the trail of shavings to behind the washing machine. To get her out, we moved the dryer to make noise and then coaxed her out with some lettuce. She snatched that and disappeared back behind the dryer. So, my sister (the one with the almost photographic memory) remembered reading in one of HamsterBoy's books that dog biscuits are a special treat. So, the Dog surrendered a biscuit and out came the Rodent! She is now back in the cage munching on more lettuce and contemplating her brief overnight of freedom. And I don't have to tell the Boy or Monkey what almost happened ... Mommy almost lost the Hamster! And all because she was able to open the cage by herself, leading me to re-arrange the tubes to prevent an escape.

Hamsterboy

Here is the promised photo of Hamsterboy and the She-Rodent known as "Hammie"...

Pets!

We finally managed to convince the Pilot to allow a Pet. Elder monkey's next door neighbour playmate has been asked by his parents to remove the Hamster. The Boy has too much work and activities to take proper care of the Hamster. Elder Monkey dearly wants a pet and is motivated to earn his Pet Care badge at Cub Scouts. The hold out has been the Pilot. Having done 2 moves with a feline, he is hesitant to move again with an animal. He also didn't think that the house can handle one. But a reasonable discussion about trial period of 3 months (equal to the time required for the badge) and the fact that this is the perfect opportunity for Elder Monkey to prove he is responsible enough to have a pet, turned the Pilot around.

The Hamster arrived today. Monkey spent yesterday and this morning reading online about hamsters. Most of the afternoon he has been in his bedroom reading and watching/playing with the hamster, now christened SCRUFFY. I will post a pic tomorrow while the Monkeys are at school.

Step one to my real goal of a Beagle dog!