The Whittaker Family entered the world of pets three years ago with our Beta fish named Kate. Kate was a fantastic fish. She also was a well traveled fish. She has probably been to more states than most Americans. Just last year she traveled to 20 states! Yes you heard me right... Kate traveled to 20 states last year!
Sadly right after we moved here Kate passed on. Our season of having a fish was over. We are on the road towards a dog, but we are not ready just yet. The other day we were at a garage sale and there was this hampster cage that the girls wanted to buy. After my hard NO PETS shell began to break I gave in to the begging and pleading. I told them if they wanted to use their own money for it all then I am ok with it. They were elated. We packed it up and headed home, the car ride was full of chat about the new little friends that would soon fill our house. As unloaded the car tradgedy hit. The cage fell out of the back of the car and crashed into a million pieces. The tears were heart breaking, moments before they were so excited about the possiblities of their new firends. Luckily, after a post on facebook we were given a great cage from our friends!
So off to the pet store we went!
Decisions, decisions.
Finally Seanna chose Tanny.
Sohaila on the other hand had a hard time.
She broke down. There was one little hamster that had a bad skin issue. She broke down because she wanted to take it home and help it. She really wanted the hamster that was running on the wheel, but her heart was broken for the one that was not as healthy.
I pulled her aside. Took a walk down the dog food aisle and began to explain that the sick one is better off at the store where they could take it to the doctor. It took her a long time, but she finally decided on Ginger the original one she loved on the wheel.
The girls divided their money and paid for all that they needed for the cage as well as the hamsters. Such a big girl moment!
That first night they even had a slumber party with their new friends! I love my girls!
My Sister and I were so much like Sohaila when we were kids. We always wanted the "unlovable" too. SO glad that we outgrew that problem with boyfriends!
Great story and so very sweet. Great job telling her they could care for it better. (not sure I would have come up with that!)
Posted by: Molly | May 30, 2011 at 02:02 PM
I love Sohaila's heart...so compassionate. Have fun girls!
We just got a new puppy last Monday and we haven't had the most sleep :( You're wise to wait til you're really ready to have a dog; they're lots of responsibility!
Molly, your comment about the boyfriends cracked me up :)
Posted by: Jenn | May 30, 2011 at 02:55 PM
What a compassionate heart your Sohaila has. Precious.
Posted by: Rachelle | May 30, 2011 at 08:23 PM
Love this! My sister was the same way - she ended up with a one-eyed hamster for awhile because she couldn't pass him up :)
Posted by: katie s | May 30, 2011 at 08:41 PM
They are growing up so fast! I love their names & their choices! I am a sucker for the sick one's, too :) She is a girl after my own heart!
Posted by: Nancy | May 30, 2011 at 09:14 PM
We have always had some sort of rodent pet. Fushia and Coke Zero were our last two mice. Coke Zero escaped one night never to return, Fushia died a few months ago.
Our Dog Cleo will be 10 this year. She's the best dog ever.
Posted by: Carole Turner | May 30, 2011 at 10:46 PM
Love the excitement that comes with new pets! :) I'm surprised they didn't tell you this at the pet store, but hamsters can't live with other hamsters after they reach adulthood. They are territorial and can fight to the death - you'll definitely want to have two cages!
Posted by: Tina | May 31, 2011 at 12:04 AM
Tina. They did say that they are individual pets. We did our research. The type of hamsters that they are should be ok. We can cross that bridge when we get there. So far so good and we've had them for over a month. H
Posted by: whittakerwoman | May 31, 2011 at 12:54 PM
Girl, you are so better than I because there is NO WAY a rodent is coming into my house! I would have just replaced the fish. My kids have just started asking for a dog and maybe next year when I FINALLY graduate from Nursing school we can get one but for now. We are a pet free home. Hopefully your girls will be able to sleep with the hamsters awake all night.
Posted by: Faith | May 31, 2011 at 12:55 PM
We're experiencing pet issues right now too. We now have 2 birds a dog and a snake. The snake is $4 a week to feed, I'm seriously considering breeding mice but I don't know if I could handle the smell.
Posted by: Kelly | May 31, 2011 at 09:44 PM
So sweet of Sohaila! Hopefully Ginger and Tanny lead as happy lives as Kate did. I will never, ever let my kids own a rodent-pet. Too many bad experiences with an obnoxious hamster that wasn't even mine and a mouse invasion of my apartment.
Posted by: Brenda | June 01, 2011 at 10:24 PM
Glad you are on top of the whole potential for fighting issue and that this variety should be OK together, Heather. I didn't mean to indicate that you hadn't "done your research". Honestly, there are so many conflicting theories when it comes to keeping various rodents as pets that it's sometimes difficult to know what is right, even with lots of research!
Posted by: Tina | June 04, 2011 at 12:05 PM
This comment is going to be a sad one, so I don't blame you if you delete it... I used to work at Petco, and that sick little hamster will NOT be taken care of. Any hamster will receive better care in your own home than it will at the pet store. During my time at Petco, I had store managers insist that sick animals were not actually sick. I personally had to drive two animals to the vet to be euthanized - one because the employees kept misplacing the animal's medicine, therefore it never received any at all - the other because it's cage was left open by an employee and it ended up getting crushed, resulting in a broken spine. These are just a few examples. I could go on and on. I know that your daughters will take great care of your new little pets. And it's a good thing that you didn't support Petco's neglect of animals by purchasing a sick one. It is very sweet, though, that Sohaila wanted to rescue it.
Posted by: Rita | June 07, 2011 at 01:29 PM
Such sweet hearts! Our second hamster is Maisy. She has 3 legs due to one of the adult females at the pet store gnawing off one of her legs. We fell in love with her and her affection for being held right away and waited the 3 weeks until she was old enough to come home. She has been the very best hamster and the boys love her! Those tender hearts are precious! Sohaila will have many more opportunities to excercise that sweet gift of mercy. :)
Posted by: Sarah | July 11, 2011 at 04:05 PM