Loss

Losing someone you love is always difficult.  Whether it is a friend, family member, or a pet, it hurts.  Yesterday, we loss our hamster, Mr. Pip, to old age.  We knew it was coming, as he had developed growths on his tummy, he was going bald, and we had loved him for more than a year and a half.  Most dwarf hamsters don't live that long, usually a life span of a year or so.  Mr. Pip was our 2nd hamster.  Bubbles was our first, and we were devastated when she died, because we hadn't had her long (about 6 months) and she was briefly sick.  With Mr. Pip we have been preparing ourselves, and though it wasn't as bad as with Bubbles (who died while Chris was holding her), it is still an absence in our life. 

Mr. Pip was a funny hamster.  Pip loved treats, and that is probably what kept him alive longer than just what his hamster food (which he wasn't fond of) would have.  He loved raisins, dried cranberries, Cheerios, fresh cucumbers, green beans, cantaloupe, nuts, and cheese.  He didn't like tomatoes or bananas.  When we got Pip out of his cage, he would taste you.  Not bite you, just taste you to see who you were.  He did bite a few times (but wasn't nearly as cranky as Bubbles was), and he could get a bit aggressive.  We called him Pip, short for Pipsqueak, because he would chitter at you while you had him out and after Pippen, a hobbit in the Lord of the Rings, stories because of his furry toes.  Towards the end of his life, he became a bit senile, chewing on his cage bars relentlessly, until we gave him a treat.  He would also doze off while half in his tubes, food dish, or house.  We knew it was coming, know he is no longer in pain, but we will miss him all the same.