How I Spend My Lunchtime

My youngest son will turn 10 this month. All he's been begging for is a hamster. His older brother had one and his older sister currently has two. So we yielded to his wishes and got one for him this past Sunday. But something didn't seem quite right with this hamster from the very beginning. I don't know, maybe it's because my son named her Snowball even though she was dark colored, speckled and long haired. She also made these terrible noises when you tried to pick her up. And she had this odd odor. Much more stinky than just your normal hamster odor.

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Once we got the little critter home and in her spanking new cage she just didn't seem very interested in exploring like every other hamster I've ever known. At first I thought she was just traumatized by the whole process of being in a new environment. So we all let her be for a day to allow her to acclimate to her new home. On day two she still didn't seem very hamster-like. No real running on her wheel. No stuffing her pouches full of food and hiding it in her bedding area. Not much activity at all.

Well, I knew something more was wrong than just being the new fur ball on the block. So last night (that would be Wednesday and we got the hamster on Sunday) we decided we would return the little animal, get a refund and look for a suitable replacement at a different store. Today I decided I would save my son from any odd feeling he might experience in taking the pet back so I went home over lunch to make the return. Boy am I glad I did. Poor little Snowball had gone on to that giant running wheel in the sky. So, doing my duty as a dad I hurried up and cleaned the cage as thoroughly as I could to rid it of any remaining health hazards and prepare it for a new occupant. (I wonder, do hamsters worry about things like living in a house where a death just occurred? Do I need to have the new animal sign a disclaimer that I've disclosed the history of their dwelling to them? Help me any of you animal attorneys out there.)

Then I put "the remains" back in the little box in which we brought her home and proceeded to the pet store. Here's a recap of that exchange.

"I need to return this hamster."

"What's the problem?"

"It has expired. I only bought it Sunday."

"Hmmmm. It seems we've been having a lot of bad luck with our hamsters lately. So do you want to exchange it or get a refund?"

"I'll just take the refund."

Needless to say, we'll get our replacement at a different store that is having better "luck" with their hamsters.

** Not an actual picture of the deceased hamster.