remember
those hamsters? The ones the big kid adopted for her school science project? The hilarious coverup story Jon was briefly investigating?
We had a pair, I’ll call them Hale and Hearty, alive and well when we left for Detroit on March 4. I heard about them twice while we were at the tournament: once, when the Science Fair was Great! The best! Woo hoo! And again later, to remind the big kid to find the hamsters a home for Spring Break and beyond. She assured me it was taken care of and I promptly forgot all about it.
Then the foster family stopped by for dinner the other night. Making innocent small talk, I inquired after Hale and Hearty.
“Ahem,” Dr. Foster said, clearing her throat and glancing at her daughter. “Well.” She set down her fork and grabbed the napkin from her lap, dabbed at the corners of her mouth. “You see,” she stammered.
“They died,” said Small Foster, breaking the news gently the way only a fifth grader can. “It was the cats. They ate one, and the other one died of fright.”
“He was alive when I found him on the stairs,” said Dr. Foster.
“But then later he died. My dad’s a cardiologist, so I know. He died of fright.”
April 25th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
another endorsement for small rodent cpr classes.