[Gpdd] Misc: Re: My Hamster

[Guineapigfilms at aol.com]

Jaime,

Congratulations to you for saving the little hamster's life! And I have good 
news for you, too...we once had a gerbil with NO back legs! In fact, he only 
had stubs. I named him (in deepest affection, of course) "Stubby." And he lived 
a long (well, for gerbils, anyway), happy life, never knowing what he was 
missing by not having back legs. It DID feel weird at first when we held him, 
just feeling those little stubs instead of feet on our hands.

Here is how it all began: at the time, we had many, many pets, including a 
VAST menagerie of guinea pigs, two Yorkies, a cat, a hamster, a gerbil, a frog, 
a fish, a mouse, a rat, etc. I was also very busy making movies starring my 
guinea pigs for HBO, Nickelodeon, ANIMAL PLANET, PBS, Montel Williams, the TODAY 
show, etc. My mom and I were certainly NOT looking to buy another pet that 
Christmas Eve when we hurried to the pet shop to buy yet another HUMONGOUS bag 
of Carefresh Bedding for our piggies before the shop closed for the holidays. 
Just as we got there, the owner was removing a tiny baby gerbil from a cage. We 
admired the baby, and then the owner said, "This will make a nice Christmas 
dinner for one of the snakes." Of course, my mom and I reacted in horror, and 
then the owner explained, "There is no way that I can sell this little one. He 
was the runt of the litter, and the mother gerbil bit off both his back legs. 
He only has stumps now so it would be really hard for him to get around or to 
keep clean. The kindest thing would be to feed him to a snake." Right away, of 
course, my mom offered to buy him. The owner gave him to us for free, and we 
took him home that Christmas Eve. He became a really lively and affectionate 
pet, and never knew what he was missing by not having legs. He never starred in 
one of my movies, but he had a great personality.

I wish you all the best in caring for your new little hamster. And I wonder 
if perhaps his missing leg could have been due to having an inexperienced or 
highly nervous mother who possibly gnawed it off. I know it sounds horrible, but 
these things do happen. But at least the little guy is getting a second 
chance at enjoying life now, and that is great!  :)

Love and WHEEEEEEEEEPS,

Alyssa and the guinea pig movie stars
http://hometown.aol.com/guineapigfilms