Posted: April 7, 2020

Little Pancake was an extremely sweet syrian hamster. He was my first pet I ever chose as an adult.

I named him Little Pancake because he was a very small syrian. He only weighed a couple hundred grams. He liked to flop down like a pancake whenever he got a chance to relax.

I had some pets as a kid, and while I was married. I loved those pets, but Little Pancake signified something new for me. I was an adult, and I was consciously choosing to care for a new friend. I wanted this deeply.

Little Pancake signifies my freedom, my joy.

Hamsters are fierce little creatures, with a strong bite. He knew how to draw blood, but never did (barring a couple times of confusion when he was a baby).

He loved running on his wheel; burrowing; hiding in boxes. Just normal hamster things.

He liked to relax in his hide-a-way all day. He rarely wanted to come out of his cage. He seemed to exemplify the mountain-cave-monk lifestyle.

I didn’t want him to be totally aloof and alone, so I woke him up regularly to play with him. He liked being held, and he would sometimes fall asleep next to me on the couch.

Nevertheless, I always felt like I was disturbing him - dude loved his alone time.

Little Pancake taught me to be free. He taught me that it’s okay to want to be alone all the time. What a good boy.

I had scheduled a vet checkup for Little Pancake just two days after Monkey passed. On the day of his appointment, he seemed groggy, or perhaps drunk.

At the vet’s office, they diagnosed him with hepatic encephalopathy. Basically, his liver had failed, and his brain was becoming foggy with toxins. He seemed very confused that day. He even tried to bite me a few times… something was very wrong.

The vet explained the condition, and that it wasn’t reversible. My little guy didn’t deserve this. He went quite peacefully… on opiates, in my arms.

I’ll never forget this guy and what he did for me. Never.

May he rest in peace.

2017-03-31 x 2020-01-17