Sound Bites & Snap Shots

RIP Greg IV

March 4, 2014 – August 2, 2015

Our little Greg came to us back in 2014 and has lived quite the life. We have had four Gregs and each one of them has had its own story.  This little Greg was the one that introduced us to veterinary care.  About a year ago, Greg developed a fungal infection.  By referral, we found a vet that treated exotic animals and she did a great job helping us nurse him back to health.  It meant weekly visits for an injection of Ivermectin twice daily cream applied to the areas.  It was a long road but finally his fur was back to normal and Greg was his spunky self. 

After that, Greg had several recurrences of the infection.  Being the skilled doctor that he is, Bill was able to treat him at home using Ivermectin bought through Amazon.  There is nothing like titrating an equine medication to treat a 66 gram rodent.  There were countless days when Bill fed Greg broccoli laced with the fungal medication.  Walker changed his bedding regularly and kept that cage was as clean as could be. 

At the start of summer, Bill spoke with Walker about the average life span of hamsters.  Should there be any problems with Greg when Walker was away at camp, Walker decided he did not want to know until he returned. 

This week while Walker was at Lodge Camp, Greg took a turn for the worse.  There were several touch and go days when Bill and I felt like we were running hamster hospice.  He was listless, breathing laboriously and hardly eating.  We were worried but  Bill was able to nurse him back to health.

When Walker got home from camp yesterday, Greg was showing signs of life and it seemed like we had made it through the worse part.  Bill cleaned his cage and Walker played with Greg for a good long time.  Later that afternoon, Greg peacefully passed away.  Some pet people might venture to say that Greg waited for Walker to return.  Greg received a solemn burial.  May he rest in peace.