Free Hamsters
I wanted a hamster. Found “free hamsters” on Craigslist. Called the phone number and asked, “Do you still have any hamsters left?” The lady replied, “Oh yeah, I just found some.” ….did I hear that right? I must have misheard it. When I arrived at her house, there were several cages filled with hamsters.
She wasn’t an intentional animal hoarder. She started out with two or three hamsters. But one of the hamsters escaped, and it was pregnant. They started breeding in her walls like rodents, and every time she would find one, she would put it in a cage. When I arrived at her house, there were about 100 hamsters in the walls, under the couch, everywhere.
Her house was infested with hamsters. She was genuinely overwhelmed and had no idea how to take care of the problem.
I gave her the phone number for a small animal rescue. They removed all the hamsters. I adopted two, Peanut and Teeny Bean. Teeny Bean had a massive facial tumor, one black eye, and one white eye (he was born without one and his eyeball socket filled with some kind of gel). The vet said these were cosmetic and he was otherwise fine. He was the ugliest hamster ever, and he loved to snuggle.