Cats have nine lives... Hamsters have at least two...
This morning, I wanted to sleep in late, but my hamster (Kiera... the reincarnation of Harry Houdini) changed my plan for needed rest. For the SECOND time, the little stinker escaped from her hamster home. She is smart... she uses her hands to unscrew the top of the little bedding area at the top.
The first time this happened was about a month ago. I noticed my rat terrier mix (dog, named Jaden) chasing after "something" under my computer desk. I was on my way into the kitchen when I noticed that the top of her sleeping area was open. I panicked and ran over to the computer desk and called out, "KIERA!!!". She came running right up to me. I put her back in and used medical tape to secure the top.
As most of you know, cleaning out hamster homes is a regular chore... and it's a disgusting pain in the ass. It's what you don't see that is the most disgusting. When an animal lives in something with grated cage, bacteria will start forming on the grates, so if you don't keep it wiped down with a disinfectant on a daily basis, the home is pretty much a breeding ground of nasty things that I don't even want to think about. So instead of cleaning out her home this time, I went out and bought another home for her and threw the other one out. That sounds "lazy", but I've been in the midst of repainting my bathroom and dining room, which I finished last night, so I really didn't want to take an hour to clean her old home.
BACK TO THIS MORNING: I'm sleeping like a baby, but I keep feeling something on me so, as I'm half asleep, I just brush away whatever it is I'm feeling on my arm and then one time I guess she tried to nestle in my neck area and I remember brushing whatever it was away, but this time, I felt the weight of what I was brushing away with my hand and that woke me up. At first I didn't see anything EXCEPT for my cat and Jaden... both looking like they were "on the hunt". My other dog, Willow, isn't like that. She wants to be friends with everyone and every animal and insect. So, I panicked again when I noticed that Kiera had managed to get another top off of her bedding area... and this one snaps into place securely, but obviously not as secure as I thought. I looked around and noticed my dog charging toward the living room chair. So, almost in tears, I call out for Kiera... and she came running up to me. As soon as I had her in my hands (plural, because she's a huge, fatass hampster), Jaden ran off because she knew she wanted to eat Kiera and she also knows that I have told her over and over again that Kiera is a "friend". My dogs understand the word "friend"... it's the word I use to let them know that they aren't supposed to bark at or hurt the "friend". Dogs understand at least a few dozen "words" through association, I guess. I find it interesting at how many individual words most dogs understand... it's amazing to me, actually.
On the subject of my pets, I have taught an old dog a new trick! Willow (my border collie mix) sometimes, instead of barking, makes these "bear-like" soft roars that kind of drag out. So, I started to mimic her when she did it, but I made the noises as I was saying "I love you", so now when I tell her to say "I love you", it sounds like it... well, it's more like, "Whaaaaaaa wuuuh wooooooo". ;)
And that's it for now... I have to run errands. Ta ta.