RIP Dasha the Hamster

Today and Yesterday were sad days.  My sweet little Dasha, the Campbell's Dwarf Hamster,
passed away.

Dasha the hamster

With everything going on with the pandemic, I lost track of time and didn't realize she was elderly and nearing the end of her life. I got her on Oct. 26, 2018, and can't believe how fast the time has gone by. In my mind, it feels like I just got her a few months ago. And now she's gone.

She went very peacefully in her sleep, and this morning my Dad and I buried her in the garden, under the Raspberries, near the garage.  I put a dandelion and some dandelion greens in her little casket (a ricotta cheese container) to send her off. I buried her in the plastic container in hopes that a cat won't dig her up and eat her.  We buried her pretty deep, so it should be fine.

I feel so sad as I really loved her. I always called her a little mouse, even though she was a hamster. She was so cute and sweet and was never afraid of me.  Just the other day, as I was feeding her, she hopped into my hand and I took her out of her cage and held her for awhile. 

Dasha asking to come out

I'm going to miss seeing her shiny little eyes staring up at me, and the way she put her tiny little hands on the cage door, then hopped right into my hands fearlessly, even though I was a giant to her.

I'm really going to miss her. 

I took these photos of her on August 30th, with my new camera, and I'm so glad I did.  RIP, sweet little mouse.

I have allergies and asthma and when I'm not already sick, I can handle a hamster without having my asthma triggered, but when I'm sick, handling her or cleaning her cage makes me very sick, and I have spent the entire day struggling with my asthma.

 My peak flow readings (measures of my breathing) dropped dangerously low today and I really struggled with wheezing and shortness of breath.  I had to take my inhalers repeatedly and doing that causes rapid heartbeats and shakiness and headaches, so it's been a bad day overall. 

I will not be getting a new hamster because I am trying desperately to avoid needing to go to the hospital for emergency breathing treamtents. Tomorrow my friend is coming to take away Dasha's cage and playpen and all of her toys and accessories, including two giant bags of new bedding.  The only thing I'm keeping is her food; I can feed that to the squirrels and chipmunks. In all, I'm giving away several hundred dollars worth of hamster stuff to my friend's son, so I don't feel bad about keeping the food for the squirrels and chipmunks. They can afford food and have lots already. 

This is the setup I'm giving them:

My old hamster, Chunkers, a larger Siberian Hamster, is in the photos, along with all of her bigger toys.  There was so much more room for Dasha, the dwarf hamster, and her tiny toys, in the big bin cage.  She absolutely loved it.

I'm giving both the big and small toys and accessories to my friend. I think he has a large hamster but who knows, in future he may get a dwarf and if he does he won't have to buy anything.  

Well, I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Goodbye little mouse; Mommy loves you.