DOO DOO NICE TANGERS

14 April 2020

Dexter is not my first rodent.

Long before Dexter entered our lives, there was Tang.

Tang was my sister's hamster. . We gave my mother a hard time because she always spoke baby talk to the hamster, often talking to him saying "Doo-doo, nice Tangers."

My father didn't talk to him in baby talk, but even he liked to have him crawl around on his chest.

When I got my own apartment, I wanted my own hamster.  I am embarrassed that I can't remember his name, but he was a great pet.  He lived in a cage all day while I was at work and I let him out to run around the apartment when I got home.  He would come when I called him but occasionally I lost him.  Once I found him on the shoulder of a coat in the closet.  Another time he hid behind the stove and was there for about 3 days. I knew he was there, but I couldn't get him out.  When he finally came out, he looked like a tiny black porcupine.

When Walt and I were getting married and moving into a different apartment we were told that we absolutely could not have a hamster or any animal at all.  I was going to move him to my office and felt bad that he would be losing his freedom.  Ever the considerate hamster, he died the day before I was going to move him.

Our kids had all sorts of rodents.  Mice were the worst, just because they smelled so bad.  We also had hamsters and guinea pigs.  Rats were great pets and my favorites.  We got a pair, who mated and had babies.  We were able to find homes for all the babies and the father, but not the other, who was now pregnant again.  Finally one of the kids' teachers decided to give her class the miracle of life and took the pregnant mother.  Only she then learned she was allergic to rats and we had to bring them back here.  The babies weren't quite old enough to be weaned when we found mom dead on Christmas morning.  I bought canned formula for them.  It came in the size of evaporated milk and you were supposed to discard it after3 days.  It cost about $12 a can.  Do you know how much milk 5 rat babies take in a day?  About the amount that will fit in one eyedropper!

But we saved them all, even the one we found in the cat's mouth one day.  Ultimately I donated them to the local pet store.  All these years later, I have convinced myself that they were sold to loving families, when in reality, I suspect they were lunch for the pet store's snake.

It was, however, nice when we graduated to larger pets.  But it was fun finding the pictures of Tang this morning!