I am not an animal lover and I knew I'd end up taking care of the pet more than I wanted to. And I'm allergic to dogs and cats. No go on the pet, right?
Well, on Memorial Day, Uncle Garratt took emmy, Abby, and their friend Savea to the pet store to look at rabbits and price out everything. (I gave Garratt a stet talking to about not purchasing anything no matter how they begged.) he texted me from the store saying they were looking at rats because they cost less than rabbits. (I replied that goldfish only cost 25 cents!)
When they got home, Emmy was all a flutter with how great a rat would be. Brett and I had talked a week or so before about being willing to get a hamster. So I told Emmy about a family I our ward who was selling their hamster with all its stuff for $20. We called them, went right over, and came home with a pet hamster.
Emmy named her Ginger, and I was axed at how much I liked having a pet! Emmy was very good about cleaning her cage so I didn't have extra work. And Ginger was so sweet and fun to watch and play with. Brett and I would get her out and play with her after the kids were in bed! (Hamsters are nocturnal, and I just couldn't resist the cute face looking up at me!)
You can imagine our shock and sadness when Brett called me late one night while the kids and I were at Bear Lake to tell me that Ginger was dead. He and I talked and cried for quite awhile as we mourned the loss if a great pet and fretted over how to tell Emmy.
I decided to tell Emmy in the morning and she handled it amazingly well. She asked if we could get another hamster, I said yes, and she spent the afternoon researching what kind of hamster to get and how to tame it.
We had a funeral for Ginger and Emmy even made a sweet headstone for her.
We bought a new hamster the day before the funeral, so the end of the funeral marked the first time Emmy could hold her new pet. (You have to leave them alone for 24 hours so they can adjust to their new cage.) The excitement of the new hamster helped to dispel the sadness if burying our sweet Ginger.
Meet Sugar Ninja (doing the obstacle course Emmy and Savea built for her)
(We have a slight obsession with American Ninja Warriors.)
Emmy named her Sugar because she is white like sugar. She has pretty gray and black markings. Ninja is her nickname because she climbs the sides and ceiling of her cage. She is super speedy and she zips all over in her ball. We have yet to let her run free because I'm sure we'd lose her. (Having an old, slow hamster first was kind of nice!) Emmy is doing a great job taming her by picking her up often but holding her only briefly.
It's hard to love another pet as much as the first but Sugar Ninja is growing on me! And I must say that hamsters are an awesome pet!
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