Introducing Firecracker
For months upon months our oldest son, B (age 8), has been saving his money to buy himself the pet he has always wanted: A Hedgehog.
Yesterday his wish came true and he got to bring home his new pet, a little fellow he had picked out a few weeks ago from an area hedgehog breeder. He named him "Firecracker", which was inspired by his love of the 4th of July and a Ryan Adams song of the same name that he has always liked. Firecracker joins Foppa the lab mix, Spanky the fat cat, and Sora the frog.
I was leery of letting him have such an animal. For those not in the know, a hedgehog is like a slightly bigger hamster but not nearty as cuddly. They ball up when scared and when really scared they flare out with their quills. The quills are not especially sharp but when they flare out it can make your hand jump back a little. Even when they are calm you can only really pet them from the front to back. Never the less, they are cute as all get out...
I have to give B a lot of credit for his research and patience. He did a full school report last year on hedgehogs, from their eating habits to their behavior and their lifespan; he and my wife found an area breeder and went through a rather lengthy application and screening process; and B paid for the entire thing himself -- the cost of the animal and it's cage and supplies. It took him the better part of this year, coming in increments of 5 to 10 dollars at a time from his allowance and totaling over $150. He earned extra money this summer helping my mother-in-law tend to her garden, he did extra chores around the house, and he opted out of many toys and other things he likes over the past several months because getting his hedgehog was his ultimate goal. I'm 32 years old and money burns a whole in my pocket whenever I have an extra amount of it so I find B's focus admirable. B has shown a lot of patience and maturity with this and, with that, it is nice to feel that he has "earned" this new pet.
I'm sure this little animal will ultimately find a way to drive me crazy but for now he is terribly adorable and rather interesting to boot. I'll keep ya posted...
J
Yesterday his wish came true and he got to bring home his new pet, a little fellow he had picked out a few weeks ago from an area hedgehog breeder. He named him "Firecracker", which was inspired by his love of the 4th of July and a Ryan Adams song of the same name that he has always liked. Firecracker joins Foppa the lab mix, Spanky the fat cat, and Sora the frog.
I was leery of letting him have such an animal. For those not in the know, a hedgehog is like a slightly bigger hamster but not nearty as cuddly. They ball up when scared and when really scared they flare out with their quills. The quills are not especially sharp but when they flare out it can make your hand jump back a little. Even when they are calm you can only really pet them from the front to back. Never the less, they are cute as all get out...
I have to give B a lot of credit for his research and patience. He did a full school report last year on hedgehogs, from their eating habits to their behavior and their lifespan; he and my wife found an area breeder and went through a rather lengthy application and screening process; and B paid for the entire thing himself -- the cost of the animal and it's cage and supplies. It took him the better part of this year, coming in increments of 5 to 10 dollars at a time from his allowance and totaling over $150. He earned extra money this summer helping my mother-in-law tend to her garden, he did extra chores around the house, and he opted out of many toys and other things he likes over the past several months because getting his hedgehog was his ultimate goal. I'm 32 years old and money burns a whole in my pocket whenever I have an extra amount of it so I find B's focus admirable. B has shown a lot of patience and maturity with this and, with that, it is nice to feel that he has "earned" this new pet.
I'm sure this little animal will ultimately find a way to drive me crazy but for now he is terribly adorable and rather interesting to boot. I'll keep ya posted...
J