Dora.

I've been putting off this post for a couple of weeks now because it still upsets me. About two years ago, my dad was on Craigslist - he loves looking at things that people are selling, and most of the time he ends up making a purchase. Well, without telling anyone one day, he came home with a red and white cage, a bag full of food and a ball, and a cute, little hamster. Now if you knew me when I was younger, you would have known that I was obsessed with those little balls of fur. I wanted one, no... I needed one, or so I thought - I mean what child doesn't think they need a pet, especially one that you could stuff in your pocket and take with you everywhere. My mom though, didn't see the need for them, in fact she thought they looked too close to rats, and didn't even want to talk about getting one.

Years passed, and I got over it, I knew I wasn't going to ever have a hamster... or so I thought.

When my dad came home with the hamster, I felt like I was 10 again, and my wish was finally coming true, as lame as that may sound. He got the hamster from a couple who was moving and wasn't able to have pets. They told him it was a female hamster, and while they also told him her name, we renamed her and I have since forgotten what they used to call her. To me, she was Dora. I was honestly afraid to hold her at first, I hadn't ever held a hamster, and I was afraid she'd bite me. Once I did hold her, she tried to bite me, but after a while, she got used to me and knew I wasn't going to hurt her. My dad was in love with her too, though I don't think he'd admit it. He had her exploring in our backyard all the time and snuck her food she probably wasn't supposed to have like bread, chips, and poptarts. I also gave her tons of veggies because she loved to snack on them. I'd say together, we provided her with a well-balanced diet!

I also have a golden retriever, Maddie, and I was nervous about introducing the two of them. While my dog is probably the most gentle dog in the world, I still didn't want her accidently squishing Dora. However, my dad had other plans - he held Dora right in front of my Maddie's nose, and eventually he threw Dora right on her back and we watched. Maddie was so careful with Dora, it was adorable. However, when we put Dora in her ball, my dog thought it was a game, and she would push the ball with her nose and paws.

Other than that I'd say she had an amazing, long life... for a hamster, at least. Two years flew by and I'm glad I preserved most of the memories on camera. From having her explore the backyard and eat the grass and playing around in her ball to sitting on my lap and watching TV and playing with each and every person that picked her up, including my dog. It hurt when I found her, not moving, and after crying on Sal's shoulder for most of the morning, I tried to take comfort in thinking that I had given Dora the best possible life and that even though she looked tiny still, and in my mind was still young, that she was old and that two years is a long life for a hamster. Sweet cards with hamster stickers also help.