Our sweet Pumpkin died on Friday morning.
She was such a great pet. We are all very sad, and will miss her so much.
Here's what happened.
On Thursday morning Rebekah came to me and told me that she thought Pumpkin was sick - that she had been lying still in her cage and wouldn't open her eyes. I was hurrying out to the pool with the other 3, so told her to clean her out and make sure she had lots of clean fresh bedding, and give her fresh water.
While we were at the pool Bek text (texted?) me several times to tell me she really thought she was sick. Rebekah LOVES Pumpkin and played with her every day. I trusted her judgment, and that she would be the one to tell if anything was wrong. Yet, I wasn't sure what to do. I knew hamsters got something they call "wet tail" which is basically diarrhea and is almost always fatal, but other than that .....
I called a vet while we were still at the pool - they didn't see hamsters, but gave me the number of another vet that did. I called them and they had an appointment for 2pm. It would be $95 to have her seen. I called Rick and was happy to get his voice mail.
"Hi Babe. We'retakingthehamstertothevet, it's$95, justwantedtorunitbyyou.Bye."
When we got home I googled "sick hamster" and decided taking her to the vet was the best thing - if it was something bacterial, she'd stand the best chance getting on an antibiotic early. We loaded up and went.
She was such a great pet. We are all very sad, and will miss her so much.
Here's what happened.
On Thursday morning Rebekah came to me and told me that she thought Pumpkin was sick - that she had been lying still in her cage and wouldn't open her eyes. I was hurrying out to the pool with the other 3, so told her to clean her out and make sure she had lots of clean fresh bedding, and give her fresh water.
While we were at the pool Bek text (texted?) me several times to tell me she really thought she was sick. Rebekah LOVES Pumpkin and played with her every day. I trusted her judgment, and that she would be the one to tell if anything was wrong. Yet, I wasn't sure what to do. I knew hamsters got something they call "wet tail" which is basically diarrhea and is almost always fatal, but other than that .....
I called a vet while we were still at the pool - they didn't see hamsters, but gave me the number of another vet that did. I called them and they had an appointment for 2pm. It would be $95 to have her seen. I called Rick and was happy to get his voice mail.
"Hi Babe. We'retakingthehamstertothevet, it's$95, justwantedtorunitbyyou.Bye."
When we got home I googled "sick hamster" and decided taking her to the vet was the best thing - if it was something bacterial, she'd stand the best chance getting on an antibiotic early. We loaded up and went.
When the vet saw her she asked how old she was. I told her 2 1/2, and she said "So you know she's a pretty old hamster." I was surprised, when we bought her I was sure that the pet store girl had said they could live from 2 - 5 yrs. The vet's response was "If you had a 5yr old hamster it would be in the Guinness Book of Records. I've never seen one over 3."
The vet told us it was not wet tail, and that actually Pumpkin seemed to be a relatively healthy hamster - alert and curious, comfortable being held, bright eyes, etc. She had some blood discharging from her bottom, so she thought it was something internal - maybe bladder stones or maybe something uterine, like cancer. The only way to tell would be x-rays. The x-rays were $230. What will they tell us, and what would we do with that information, I asked? We would know what was wrong, and the action to correct it would be surgery. Expensive surgery, that may or may not save her life.
Here comes the hard part as a parent. I really believe that if you are going to get a pet - any pet - that you need to take absolute full responsibility for it's life. One of the reasons I want my kids to have pets is to learn compassion, to love & care for something selflessly, and then to also experience death - a normal part of life. Standing there in the vets office with them and the pet they love so much, it was much harder for me, than I thought it would be.
I decided NOT to do the x-rays. I wasn't about to pay for surgery, and didn't think it would be fair to put her through it, so no point in knowing what else it might be. We decided to do a stool sample to let us know if it was anything bacterial, and they gave her a shot of SQ fluids to help hydrate her and sent us home with special fortified food, and a formula to syringe feed her if she wasn't eating. The final bill was $220 (best to not even show it to Rick.)
We took her home. She was eating a little, but I didn't see her drink. I gave her some water through the syringe. We filled her cage & strawberry bed with white paper towel, as the vet had instructed, to be able to see anything unusual. She was lethargic, and mostly just stayed in her strawberry. For everyone who's ever spent the night at our place - you will understand how odd it was for us not to have the sound of her wheel squeaking as she ran in it that night. Rebekah said she saw her walk towards it, but couldn't get more than her front paws up on it, and left it.
Rebekah slept on the floor next to her cage that night.
The next morning, she was pretty much the same, but moving around even less. Around 10:15am, Rebekah called me. Pumpkin was lying on her side in her hands. She was dead. She died with Bek holding her. I called the other kids and we cried, and each held her & said goodbye. We told her how much we loved her, and what a great pet she had been.
We buried her on Saturday morning. Under the maple tree in our front yard, that we all love so much. We had named her Pumpkin because of her color and because it was a name Jacob could say (remember he couldn't talk when he was 2). In the fall that tree turns the most glorious orange colors, and we always put our jack-o-lanterns out by it. That will help us think of her.
I wrapped her in a piece of cloth cut from a dress that had been both Emily & Jane's. We had a little memorial. Rick said a prayer, and we all said goodbye to her again. We put a rock over the spot (I'm planning on getting one with her name carved on it for there,) then each put a flower on her grave. Jacob stuck his in the ground in front of it - and of course, Jane followed suit.
I sobbed.
The vet told us it was not wet tail, and that actually Pumpkin seemed to be a relatively healthy hamster - alert and curious, comfortable being held, bright eyes, etc. She had some blood discharging from her bottom, so she thought it was something internal - maybe bladder stones or maybe something uterine, like cancer. The only way to tell would be x-rays. The x-rays were $230. What will they tell us, and what would we do with that information, I asked? We would know what was wrong, and the action to correct it would be surgery. Expensive surgery, that may or may not save her life.
Here comes the hard part as a parent. I really believe that if you are going to get a pet - any pet - that you need to take absolute full responsibility for it's life. One of the reasons I want my kids to have pets is to learn compassion, to love & care for something selflessly, and then to also experience death - a normal part of life. Standing there in the vets office with them and the pet they love so much, it was much harder for me, than I thought it would be.
I decided NOT to do the x-rays. I wasn't about to pay for surgery, and didn't think it would be fair to put her through it, so no point in knowing what else it might be. We decided to do a stool sample to let us know if it was anything bacterial, and they gave her a shot of SQ fluids to help hydrate her and sent us home with special fortified food, and a formula to syringe feed her if she wasn't eating. The final bill was $220 (best to not even show it to Rick.)
We took her home. She was eating a little, but I didn't see her drink. I gave her some water through the syringe. We filled her cage & strawberry bed with white paper towel, as the vet had instructed, to be able to see anything unusual. She was lethargic, and mostly just stayed in her strawberry. For everyone who's ever spent the night at our place - you will understand how odd it was for us not to have the sound of her wheel squeaking as she ran in it that night. Rebekah said she saw her walk towards it, but couldn't get more than her front paws up on it, and left it.
Rebekah slept on the floor next to her cage that night.
The next morning, she was pretty much the same, but moving around even less. Around 10:15am, Rebekah called me. Pumpkin was lying on her side in her hands. She was dead. She died with Bek holding her. I called the other kids and we cried, and each held her & said goodbye. We told her how much we loved her, and what a great pet she had been.
We buried her on Saturday morning. Under the maple tree in our front yard, that we all love so much. We had named her Pumpkin because of her color and because it was a name Jacob could say (remember he couldn't talk when he was 2). In the fall that tree turns the most glorious orange colors, and we always put our jack-o-lanterns out by it. That will help us think of her.
I wrapped her in a piece of cloth cut from a dress that had been both Emily & Jane's. We had a little memorial. Rick said a prayer, and we all said goodbye to her again. We put a rock over the spot (I'm planning on getting one with her name carved on it for there,) then each put a flower on her grave. Jacob stuck his in the ground in front of it - and of course, Jane followed suit.
I sobbed.
Really, 24 hours of sickness is pretty merciful, and I'm glad she wasn't sick longer. We loved her and I think she had a good life with us.
Our Darling Pumpkin.
April 2007 - July 2009
This is how we will remember you.
Another pet is definitely in our future, but we're going to wait a while before we decide on anything.
5 comments:
ok this post totally made ME cry! and triple think getting a pet ever. and then think of how valuable the experience would be. so it's now this conflict in my head either way. thanks. jk ;-)
I love the strawberry bed. I hope when I die I'm happy inside of a strawberry. Sounds like Bek took good care of her pet and loved it dearly.
I totally echo what Liz said! I'm seriously bawling! And gave me the thought too that that's why I shouldn't get a pet - look what a mess I am over one I don't even have any ties to!! I don't even remember having these kind of ties to the hamsters I did have when I grew up! But your story was beautiful. Beautiful to die in the arms of a family that loves you. That was a lucky hamster.
I just had a few tears trickling until the part where you said Rebekah slept next to the cage all night and then the floodgates opened. I hope she's OK. Pumpkin was certainly a beautiful little thing. xx
I'm sad for your family but I'm glad that Pumpkin got to be in your lives. She's such a cute little girl.
So, so sad but she was loved such a lot, she had a good life.
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