Monday night we made the new hamster purchase. And since my husband had not only caved but had CAVED, said purchase actually involved 2 brand new hamsters. He’d decided the best way to quell fighting between the girls over the hamster issue was to allow each of them to get one. Good idea, right? YES and NO. Sure, they were not fighting, except perhaps over whose hamster was superior. But now our younger daughter had full-out 24 hr access to her magical new friend. So by yesterday morning he had of course disappeared. You see, our younger daughter used to do this with dearly departed Hammie, she would take him out of his cage and bring him into the family room to watch TV with her. But a 4 yr old doesn’t understand that a hamster could care less about TV. So while she’d become engrossed with Arthur, or Cyberchase, or Clifford the Big Red Dog, the hamster – instead of sitting quietly beside her on the couch as she was imagining – was beating feet to the nearest hidey hole. We lost Hammie so many times I actually lost track. Fortunately Hammie’s golden fur worked greatly to our advantage each time he went on “vacation.” But as they were fresh out of fluffy golden hamsters at Petsmart, this new guy Cutie is a Black Bear – meaning all BLACK. He is was IS ADORABLE, but his soft black fur blends in just perfectly with our dark wood floors. Meaning we have no hope in hell of ever finding him.

We have been employing all of the usual tactics, and I have additionally read up on How to Catch a Runaway Hamster. We have secured and sealed off the room, we have left food out to entice him, we have left his bed and igloo out to entice him, we have done everything to entice him. But now that he’s tasted freedom, do you really think he’s coming back?  Fat chance.