Oh, Those Rodents!

     It was February 2004.  We lived in Allegan.  Our children just received money for Valentine's Day and wanted to go shopping.  I told the kids (aged almost 7, almost 6, 3 years old and 1 year old) they can buy what ever they want with their money at the store.  I loaded up the children and headed towards Meijer's in Planwell, Mi..  We walked around the toy aisle as the children debated on what to get.  As the older children looked I would see what toy James (the one year old) would like to have as well.  Nothing seemed to grab my or the kids attention. 

     We walked around the store for other ideas.  Then we walked past the small animal area.  It was like magnetic beams shot out of their eyes and dragged them across the aisle to look at the birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, and the multitudes of fish.  Oh no!  I dreaded.  The older two looked at the prices and the money they had in their hands.  They didn't have enough.  Whew!

     Moments later Christian and Beth approach me with a smile across their faces.  "We know what we want,"  they said, "We want to buy a hampster!"

     "Oh no!"  I reply back.  "You don't have enough money."

     "Yes we do, "  Beth chimes back, "If we all put our money together then we have enough to buy 2 hampsters"  she says excitedly.

    "No! No! No!"  I firmly said.  "We already have a dog.  We do NOT need a hampster!"

     "PLEASE?????"  the 3 begged beautifully.  James would sit in the basket of the cart pointing over at the rodent's in the glass aquarium.  "You said we can have ANYTHING in the store?"

     Mental note to myself at that moment:  NEVER say the words ANYTHING IN THE STORE ever again to my children when we go shopping!   

     I looked down at their angelic faces.  I know deep down this novelty will wear off in a week and I would be the one cleaning the cage and feeding and watering it.  Drats!  The kids pinned me in the corner when I said that.  It was their money and I did say anything.  I think just the brillance of them realizing that they can combine their money to get a larger priced item at that age made me give in.  "Okay.  Beth and Christian, you both pick out one and Ashton, you pick one out for you and James."   I chipped in the rest for a cage, food and a ball where the hampster can run around the house in.  Sadisticly, I envisioned one of the hampsters running around in this plastic ball and our dog (about 5 years old) chasing it and trying to flick it around the house where the hampster was at the mercy of the dog.  Okay, I was ready to bring the hampsters home now.

     We brought the hampsters inside and I was giddy to see our dog's reaction.  He sniffed them a few times and left them alone.  I had the kids pick out their names.  Beth and Christian agreed on Pinky because a crazy cartoon Pinky and the Brain.  Ashton picked the name Lilo for her black and white hampster after the movie "Lilo and Stitch" which was a popular Disney movie at the time.  Sure enough, a few weeks later, the kids paid no mind to the hampsters anymore and I was left to tend to their cleaning and feeding.

     Fast forward 5 to 6 months.  We ended up moving to a small town in Osceola county (See Spontaneous Life Changing Decision April 18, 2012 blog  http://ymaout.blogspot.com/2012/04/spontaneous-life-changing-decision.html  on that story).

     It was a warm night.  The children were in bed fast alseep.  We were watching a movie in the living room relaxing.  I was on the couch and Brian was stretched out on the floor.  Suddenly Brian jerks back, "What the hell....?"

     I look over at him confused.

    "Something lifted up on that vent!"  The heater vent was right next to the TV.  We both stare at it for a moment.  Nothing happened.

     I sit up and Brian joins me on the couch and we resume watching the movie.  We both heard a sound coming from the vent.  A loud scratching sound.  We picked up the remote and hit the mute button.  We both stare at the vent and listen to the fumbling, scratching sounds.  The vent lifted up again and a head stuck out from the vent.  "A RAT!"  Brian shouts.

     "A rat?"  I wanted to make sure I heard him correctly.

     "We need to kill that rat!  We cannot have rats in this house!"  Brian commands.

     We quickly unloaded a medium size box to use as a trap.  We planned on waiting until the rat comes out, lay the box on its side for the rat to run into and then tilt the box upright to capture the rat and then killing it. 

     We watched the vent intently.  We were on a mission.  I stood off to one side so the rat would run in the other direction where Brian was holding the box waiting for the rat to run into.  The vent started to lift up and down.  We were curious as to why the rat could lift the vent but neither one of us wanted to get a closer look.  The vent was lifting higher.  We could see his head.  His head would stick out and then go back in.  I look up at Brian with delight.  We were going to catch us a rat!  His head popped back out again.  The rat decided to make a run for it and fully came out of the vent.  He ran for the box and our plan was set in motion.  Brian was able to scoop up the rat with the box and the rat was trapped.  "There wasn't a tail on the rat!"  I shout out.  "It's tailless!"

     "Sometimes rats will get their tails caught on something and they lose their tail.  It's quiet common."  He assured me. 

     Brian went to look for something to end this rat's life.  "I want to take a closer look."  I say to Brian.

     "Why?  They are nasty rodents that we must get rid of!" 

     "I never seen a rat in real life before.  I want to see it before we kill it."

     "Be my guest."  Brian says back motioning with his hand for me to go to the box. 

     I look at it.  Cute little thing.  I think to myself.  I take a closer look at his nose.  There was some fur that has been rubbed away at it.  "Honey, I don't think this is a rat."   

     "What makes you think that?"  Brian inquires.

     "His nose.  There is fur missing from his nose.  I think this is Pinkie."  Pinkie had a habit of gnawing at the wires of his cage so much that he rubbed away the fur from his nose.

     "There is only one way to make sure."  Brian walks over to the hampster cage in the other room and peeks in.  Pinkie was missing.  Brian goes back over to the box and looks at the rodent in the box very carefully.  "You are one lucky hampster!"  He picks up the hampster and places him back into his cage. 

     Sadly, a year later Pinkie's life came to an end.  His cagemate Lilo had already passed on earlier.  They are both buried outside next to a tree that the kids like to play on.  I don't think they kids think much about the hampsters but I have learned two lessons:  Be care of what you say and always look twice before killing something.  It could be a pet.