Charleston Chew the hamster (aka Charlie, fka Chewbacca) passed away on Tuesday night, curled up in a ball under his blankets of tissue. He was only about a year old, but he hadn't been doing very well the past couple weeks, so it wasn't much of a surprise. He'd stopped eating a few days ago and had all but quit drinking as well. Although whatever was wrong with him made him lose weight and energy, as recently as a week ago he was still getting his nightly exercise of climbing the side of his cage and then working his way across the top, commando-style, like they were monkey-bars on a elementary school playground. We put him to rest in my parents' front yard on Wednesday night on the opposite side of the driveway from Oro and near Griffin, so he's in good company.
Emily brought Charleston home in mid-November last year after one of her friends at work couldn't care for him. After picking him up at the office in the morning, apparently he slept under Emily's desk all day, then enjoyed a ride home on the Metro. Despite the change of scene, he warmed up to us right away, though at first it was hard to tell which end of him was which with all the fur! He was a teddy bear hamster, but had hair like you wouldn't believe! Think of how a caricature artist would depict Einstien's 'do, and then go wilder. When Emily's mom came to visit, she wanted to take a pair of scissors to him and cut it all off, but we managed to spare him the loss of his out-of-control mane. Charleston wasn't as big a fan of the hamster ball as Oro was, but because he was a lot friendlier, you could actually sit somewhere and play with him for a while and pet and brush him.
Charleston had been having a hard time breathing the past couple of days and hadn't really been opening his eyes much either. It's sad to see such a little creature in such obvious pain and be helpless to do anything about it besides try to make him comfortable and keep him company. On Monday night when it cooled off so much, we left the windows open at night. I like to think that the cold air put him into hibernation, where his troubled breathing became less of a hindrance and he could drift away peacefully, dreaming of doggie biscuits and yogurt drops.
Rest in peace little furry friend.
Emily brought Charleston home in mid-November last year after one of her friends at work couldn't care for him. After picking him up at the office in the morning, apparently he slept under Emily's desk all day, then enjoyed a ride home on the Metro. Despite the change of scene, he warmed up to us right away, though at first it was hard to tell which end of him was which with all the fur! He was a teddy bear hamster, but had hair like you wouldn't believe! Think of how a caricature artist would depict Einstien's 'do, and then go wilder. When Emily's mom came to visit, she wanted to take a pair of scissors to him and cut it all off, but we managed to spare him the loss of his out-of-control mane. Charleston wasn't as big a fan of the hamster ball as Oro was, but because he was a lot friendlier, you could actually sit somewhere and play with him for a while and pet and brush him.
Charleston had been having a hard time breathing the past couple of days and hadn't really been opening his eyes much either. It's sad to see such a little creature in such obvious pain and be helpless to do anything about it besides try to make him comfortable and keep him company. On Monday night when it cooled off so much, we left the windows open at night. I like to think that the cold air put him into hibernation, where his troubled breathing became less of a hindrance and he could drift away peacefully, dreaming of doggie biscuits and yogurt drops.
Rest in peace little furry friend.
