"Over Coming Insurmountable Odds" or "The Legacy of Hampton the Hamster"

Alas, our beloved Rubino hamster: Hampton has passed on. He died what is believed to be a quiet death during the night of Sunday, December 26th 2004. He was discovered the next day by his owner and sidekick Dan Rubino, Hampton was found on his back with all four legs sticking straight up in the air. He was buried that afternoon behind a bush in the backyard. And while his adorable face is gone, his legacy (and odor) will remain for years to come.

Hampton Rubino June, 2002-December, 2004

Hampton was brought into the family during the summer of 2002. My brother purchased him in June, much to my chagrin. I am allergic to cats and dogs, so naturally I would assume I was allergic to all mammals that shed. And so Hampy's first few months with the family were spent in Danny's bedroom. Of course, like most rules based on flimsy logic, we soon cast aside our original apprehensions and brought him downstairs to share with the world.

At first he and I didn't get along. He was smelly, irritable, and living in his own filth-- much like a certain roommate I've had this year. But then, like the Scrooge I am, my hard heart broke and I let him into my life. When we first got him, and got used to him, we always had him in his little plastic ball of semi-freedom. He went all around the house, bumping into everything, and getting in the way when I was trying to walk places. I referred to him as "The Party Animal" and everything was gravy.

The family pet was far from perfect. But he always managed to find his way back into our hearts.

A family pet such as this is not so easily replaced. We don't plan on getting another hamster any time soon. Our family, and extended family, was quite attached to his animal. My Aunt Marian and my Mom especially loved him, and it always amazed me how they were able to talk to him for so long, while all he did was sniff himself. I always tried to have intelligent conversations with him, trying to instill a sense of conservative values, urging him not to join a union, and to try on the miniature "Drill in ANWAR" shirt I bought him. And it was somewhat satisfying during the end of his life when I was actually the person in charge of putting him in and out of his plastic ball. I was closer to him in the end than I had ever been before.

However I must say that his death was not a surprise. He had been in an accident only a month before his death, when he slipped off of his ladder and caught his small (and adorable) paw in it's latch. Much like an elderly person breaking his or her hip, it was all pretty much downhill from there. We had to move all of his stuff to the bottom floor of the cage, just making things comfortable for him. At first we thought he was going to pass right after the accident, but then he began to show improvement. I was at Cafe Kolache at the time of his discovery, and just happened to make a phone call home soon after the funeral. I was saddened, but I knew that at least he was no longer living in pain.

Hampton was a good, loyal pet.. he never let us actually hold him, and in that sense he was always slightly removed from the rest of us. But I know he had good intentions deep inside his miniscule rodent heart. Rest in peace my friend... you've done good.