“Until one has loved an animal a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
—Anatole France

Justine had been begging for a pet for a very long time. Maki already had a fish, and Pablo had moved to the kitchen where Justine had been faithfully feeding him. She was so young, and I was so overwhelmed with life—I didn’t think we could handle anything more (besides the fish) than a tiny hamster, which seemed relatively easy. So in June, for her seventh birthday, she brought home her first pet, whom she named Benson. Here she is, leaving the pet store with him in a box: she was SO happy!

I had no idea they would develop such a bond or that she would be such a good mama. Despite his nippy beginnings, she took time to hold him regularly throughout each day, and not only did he begin to calm down in her hands, but she calmed down in his presence too. If she was sad or stressed after school, she would go straight to him for a cuddle. They became the best of friends. He would even fall asleep on her. We wondered if he was more like a dog than a rodent. Especially after her dad’s death, I could see the importance of comfort that an animal provided her—no matter how small the animal.

Benson has taught me a lot…particularly about tenacity. The way he tries to get out of his glass cage/aquarium over and over, even though he has to somehow balance his little hind leg on the top of the hamster wheel, falling time and time again. He tries every night no matter what…and even though he also has to moved the heavy metal top, he’s managed to do it a few times and escape. The more success he would have, the more confident he would become until we had to add heavy objects to the top of the lid. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find him, he’d show up in some corner of the house soon enough. A couple times he’d wake me in the in the middle of the night, rustling around my bedroom. (Probably looking for Justine.)

Benson went missing again this weekend. I was surprised he was able to get out of his cage because there was a heavy object on the lid, perhaps we hadn’t secured the corners tight enough. The truth is, I had a bad feeling about this escape because the back door had been ajar at some point. Granted, when I’m super busy with other things, anxiety levels can really bump up, and by Sunday afternoon, I was convinced he’d gotten out and had been eaten by an owl. Oh the heartbreak! I didn’t tell Justine this, but I thought I’d better come up with a plan B. So in a moment of weakness, I bought her another $12 hamster and a new cage (just in case.)

Guess who showed up in my bedroom in the middle of the night? Benson! So…now we have two hamsters! I clearly can’t trust my own mind. I bet this is how zoos get started.

Here is Justine, holding Oreo for the first time. (By the way, both are boys…and they will probably remain in separate habitats.)