At last Joshua's brother found a home

Hello, this is Maza and I got more good news. After returning for Loutraki, we found a home for Joshua's little brother.

If you have been reading this blog you migh remember that I had 12 little hamsters. Nick tried to find a home for them. And they did for 10 of them, but 2 of them were unlucky and Nick decided to give them to a friendly local pet shop.

When Monty went to the Rainbow Bridge, Nick checked on the pet store to see if those two little hamsters had found a home. They were sad to find out that after 4 months, they were still there. He got Joshua back (one of the two hamsters), but the other one was left there alone. 

Well, finally Joshua's brother found a home! He spent one day with me and his brother and then he was given to Penelope where he will be loved. I am so relieved!

I have a couple of pictures of Joshua's little brother to share with you. Do not confuse him with Joshua, although he looks exactly like him. Joshua's brother was a lot more social than Joshua during that one day we spent with him.

I've been a bad bad bad hamster...

Hello, Maza here.

We just arrived to Loutraki. And I've been a bad bad bad hamster during the road trip :((((

Let me start from the beginning. Nick decided to go to his summer house in Loutraki and stay there for 10 days. Since Monty, my boyfriend, went to the Rainbow Bridge recently, Nick wanted to take us (me and Monty's son, Joshua) with them to cheer us up. Also 10 days are a lot of time to leave us alone.

Joshua hasn't been with us for more than a week and is not as comfortable as me,  around Nick. So, the plan was to put our two cages in the backseat of the car and have me and Joshua in our hamster-balls. And that's what we did. So far so good.

Nick was afraid that Joshua would get scared of being in his hamster ball all this time, so he started feeding him nuts and peanuts and lettuce so he would be occupied with something and not be grumpy. He felt bad about me, and started feeding me too.

It turned out that Joshua was not nervous at all, after finishing his meal he fell asleep in his hamster-ball. But it was me that started to get nervous. I had stored my food in my chick-pouches and I started to get impatient. I wanted to empty those pouches in my cage, but I was in my hamster-ball. Nick understood that I wanted to be in my cage, parked his car and he opened the hamster-ball and picked me up.

I am so sorry... I don't know why. Perhaps I got scared. It was my first road-trip!!! Please understand me! I got so scared that I bit NICK!!! Sorry!!!

He got startled and dropped me on the floor, and I started running around. It took him a while but in the end he found me picked me up again, put me in my cage and everything was fine afterwards.

That's all. The moral of the story is that even a hamster that is good mannered and behaves, like me, can get scared in a car and bite someone without really thinking about it!

Monty's last wish

Hi, it's Maza again. And guess who is sitting next to me... JOSHUA!!! Monty's son.

I am so happy. I got little Joshua by my side, teaching him how this blog works so he can update it by himself one day. Joshua looks so much like his father, it's almost like Monty is next to me too. Monty, if you read this on RainbowBridge Netcafe, let me tell you your son has inherited your house, but also all your bad habits! He is an explorer, will not stand still for a second, and also does not eat all his food. Just like you.

Joshua has long hair, but not as long as Monty's. His fur is is the same color as Monty's but even more softer to the touch. More like mine. And Joshua is a lot fatter than Monty. Like me!

Nick ισ leaving for Loutraki for vacations and decided to take us along. We are going to spent 10 days there. I don't really like travels and I am also worried about Joshua. I am not sure if he is going to behave himself on the journey. It's one hour long by car and he hasn't traveled before. Neither have I.

I promise I will take some pictures of Joshua once we arrive at Loutraki. But until then, I found some old pictures of Monty. These are from the time he was working on his blog. Haha, he liked looking at himself.

So Long And Thanks For All the Sunflower Seeds.

Hello hamster-readers. This is Maza. I got an email from Monty some minutes ago! I am copy-pasting it below in its entirety. I am so excited by reading Monty's news. And I can't wait for Joshua!

From: Monty (monty@rainbowbridge.com)

To: Maza the fat princess (maza@hamsteropolis.blogspot.com)

Cc: Nick@hamsteropolis.blogspot.com

Subject: So long and thanks for the the sunflower seeds

Dear Maza,

I am sorry for my unexpected departure but it was not something I had planned. The last couple of days I was feeling ill. You may have noticed that I wasn't drinking enough water, I was walking rather sluggishly, and I wasn't grooming myself as much as I used to. Nick definitely noticed it. He tried to make me feel better, but my condition was more serious than he thought.

The last day I spent in my cage, next to you, was the worst. I was constipated and couldn't... *ahem*.. poop! Nick tried to make me drink water (with vitamins) from a syringe because I was dehydrated. He said that it would help my constipation problem as well. I was feeling so ill that I didn't want to drink water but he insisted. Later he tried to clean my 'bottom' and massage my belly with a warm towel.

When I was clean and had drunk my water, I felt very tired. Nick put me back in my cage. I curled in a corner and fell asleep. And that's when the weird things started happening.

I read in your previous post you wrote on MY blog (I am kidding, you are free to post anytime you wish), that the next morning I was lying there and I was not moving, and that Nick thought I had passed away! But that's not really what happened, is it? You did suspect something was amiss. Well, you were right.

The next morning, contrary to popular belief, I woke up, alright. But not in my cage! I woke up in a big grassy field. It was so beautiful and sunny. I normally don't like the sun, but this time it was fine. A large blue river was running through the field and a huge rainbow bridge was crossing it. Between me and the bridge were many kinds of animals, too many to count. And they were also separated in groups of varying sizes. I felt a strange desire to join one such group. And what a weird group it was.

For starters there were at least 2 dogs, 5 cats, 2 turtles, a duck, some canaries and one little parrot. Yes, you read that right, a parrot. When those animals saw me approaching, they greeted me. They were friendly, even the cats. I hate cats, you know that. The introduced themselves to me. Oh my god, you should listen to their names. Their names were so stupid and funny that I was barely able to keep a straight faced. The duck was called Pipinos (lol). The dogs were called Irma and Azor (I might be wrong on that last one). The cats were confusing. One of the was called Pinky (she was black though). The others were all called Loulis. There was Loulis the first, Loulis 2, Loulis 3 and 4. They were like some sort of a bad movie series. Loulis 1 colours' were white and brown. Loulis 2 and 3 where gray with streaks of white and black. Loulis 4 was totally black. I can't remember the parrot's name (he was creepy), nor the turtles's.

I was a bit confused and Pippinos the duck explained everything to me.

This, he said, was a place called Rainbow Bridge. And all those animals I saw were pets, waiting for their 'special friend' from back 'home'. Until their special friend arrives, the pets enjoy the scenery, run around, eat their favorite meals, socialize and play. But some times, a pet would stop playing and stand still, as if something just clicked and made sense. Then he would turn around and would see his special friend in the distance. That pet would run towards his special friend and they would be reunited again at last. And they would cross the Rainbow Bridge together. There is some confusion as to which special friend a pet will follow when it had more than one special friend, but lets not delve into plot-holes.

It's very common for pets in Rainbow Bridge to socialize with other pets that had a common special friend. And all the pets in this group knew Nick. I was more special because I brought more recent news from Nick! By the way, OMG NICK, you weren't very talented in giving names to cats, were you? You named four cats Loulis?

Quite recently the management of Rainbow Bridge built an Internet Cafe. This is where I am writing this email from. Unfortunately this place is very busy. New pets arrive here all the time and everyone wants to sent an email back 'home'. As a newcomer, I have priority, but I doubt I will be able to sent another email anytime soon. I definitely will not be able to update the blog, so I leave that responsibility to you.

Anyway, let's move on to more serious stuff. I never had time to make a proper testament. Fact is I was not expecting to be moving on so quickly. So, all of my edible possessions, including but not limited to my hoard of peanuts, sunflower seeds and the frozen broccoli which I didn't manage to devour, I leave to you, Maza the fat princess. Please don't eat those all in one sitting!

My manor and all the furniture, the tubes, the bedding, both my hamster-balls, my two water-bottles and my favorite hamster-wheel, the curtains and everything shall be inherited by ... my son JOSHUA!!!!

(surprised? don't be!)

So, yeah, I found out about him. Maza, do you remember when you gave birth to 12 little hammies? Nick certainly does. They tried to find homes for all our babies and they almost did. Except for Joshua. They couldn't find a home for him, so as a last resort they gave him to a pet shop owner. Joshua was so cute that they believed someone would adopt him soon. Unfortunately, I have been told by an undisclosed person (well, pet in fact), that poor Joshua is still in that pet shop, homeless and motherless. My last wish is for him to move back home so he can be with his mother and Nick. I have been told he is well mannered and handsome. In fact he looks just like me and you, Maza. He has my long-haired fur and color, and your facial features and .. erm... shape!

Ok, now I am rumbling, and... wait, what is that? A GIANT HAMSTER-WHEEL??? Oh the joy! I have to go and run on that wheel. I can't resist.

I got to go Maza. I miss you all. Don't feel sad for me, it's wonderful here.

So long and thanks for all the sunflower seeds,

Monty the hamster

Monty! Where did you go?

Hi, this is Maza and I am afraid I have some rather bad news to share.

I woke up this morning and Monty's cage was empty!

During my sleep I heard Nick talking to someone about what happened to Monty. He was so sad. Monty was sick the last couple of days. Last night they tried to give him water through a syringe. The vet would return from his vacations today and Nick was going to visit him with Monty, but I guess they were late.

Nick said that Monty passed away this night, but I know better. Monty went to the Rainbow Bridge, waiting for us so we can all cross it together. But until then I feel so lonely....

Goodbye Monty,
Me, Nick and everyone that met you will never forget you. Visit us in a dream soon.

Your fat princess,
Maza

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. 

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. 

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. 

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... 

Monty is sick.

Hi, I am Maza. I am Monty's girlfriend!

Monty can't update his blog right now because he has been sick the past couple of days.

Right after our little visitor left (I mean Iggy) Monty started not feeling very well. I don't know what's wrong with him but I am worried! Nick is at his office right now, but I heard him talking to a vet and arranging an appointment for Monty.

Monty looks very miserable. He is sluggish, which makes me very sad to look at him. He used to be so active before. His fur is not groomed as much as he used to. I remember him having a rich and bright fur, but now it's untidy. He sleeps all night. At least he still has his appetite but I think he isn't drinking as much water.

We are not even sure if he is actually sick. Could it be a heat stroke? It's true that it's hot right now, here in Greece, but Nick was leaving the A/C on all the time. Perhaps he caught a cold? Certainly it can't be from old age. Monty is not even 10 months old yet.

We were afraid Monty might have been dehydrated. We gave him frozen broccoli and he ate some of it. He seemed to like it. Then Nick gave me frozen broccoli to me too. I loved it, it was like vegetable ice-cream! But let's not talk about me. Nick put Monty in his old cage, with fresh aspen shavings for bedding, because he wanted to be sure it was not the new Carefresh bedding in his cage that was making him sick. He even checked for wet tail symptoms, but her findings were not conclusive.

Anyway, Nick got worried, because Vets that specialize in Hamsters are quite rare in Greece, but I see that Nick found one and his office is not very far. Ah, right now he is calling him. I am eavesdropping right now... she (the vet) is on vacation but she sounds very helpful. She says that we needs to give him yogurt because it has antibiotics. I like yogurt. We also need to put some vitamin drops in his water bottle. And turn off the A/C. The vet was very helpful, she seemed like a nice person. If Monty is not better by Thursday, then they are going to pay the vet a visit.

I pray to the saint of Hamsters for Monty to get well soon!

 Maza the hamster.