Cloud
9 Oct 2008 - 18 Jan 2010
Feisty, opinionated, loner... feral. These and other words would describe Cloud, my daughter's dwarf Siberian hamster. Cloud was a bundle of aerobic energy that brought a lot of joy into our lives given her diminutive size. I particularly enjoyed listening to Cloud's late night sonatas composed in the key of wheel banging against the cage until exhaustion overtook me and I drifted off to dreamland. There were times when Cloud would become a tad too exuberant and I would have to stagger out and disconnect the wheel during Cloud's rendition of Smoke on the Water.
Cloud despised conformity preferring to run on top of her hamster wheel unlike 'common' dwarf Siberian hamsters and periodically would hone her razor teeth against the cage in hopes that you'd be foolish enough to dangle a morsel (like your finger) a bit too close. She only respected my daughter who fed her, cleaned her cage and took very good care of her.
On Martin Luther King day Cloud indicated that something was amiss. My daughter noticed that the little hamster was dozing on one of her platforms as opposed to in her bedding, "She never does that!" I tried to stay in the camp that Cloud merely had an upset stomach but my daughter was certain this was it and the death watch began. My daughter did everything she could to make Cloud's final hours on this ball comfortable but around 9pm, while packing for the gym, I hear a quiet, "Dad..."
I come out to the den, see my daughter sitting on the couch next to her mom holding a still Cloud in the palm of her hand. She looks up at me, tears welling and with quiet dignity says, "Cloud died." I sit next to her, pat Cloud's soft fur one last time and try to console my very upset daughter over the loss of her pet.
Cloud will be interred this Saturday, January 23. She's currently in the family deep freezer much like Walt Disney until time for the proper ceremony.
Cloud, dwarf legend, hamster wheel maestro, rest in peace and have fun on the big wheel in the sky!
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