I’ve always been an animal lover. Despite the fact that I used to be incredibly allergic to all things cute and fluffy, our household was always full of critters. It started with a guinea pig, then two guinea pigs, and from there it kind of escalated. My dad, of course, disliked this as he’s never been much of an animal person, but Mom and sister and I loved every second of it. At one point I remember we had about seven breeds of animals running around- a salamander, a frog, a bird, a hermit crab, a dog, a mouse, and a slew of fish. Nowadays I only have a dog, a cat, and two hedgehogs, but I remember those days nonetheless.

Of course, that’s not to say I adored every animal that somehow came into my possession. As a kid I was obsessed with birds, and around the age of nine my mother finally permitted me to adopt a cockatiel. I was intent on naming my newfound avian friend Sweetheart, but somehow the name Daisy stuck instead. I was Daisy’s biggest fan for a few weeks… that is, until she started hating me. The darn bird would climb up my arm and viciously attack my eyes- yes, my eyes- with her relentless beak. I still can see the peck marks in the glasses I wore at the time. However, there was one family member Daisy didn’t try to blind… my father. This, of course, was ironic as it’s no secret that Dad has a deeply rooted dislike for everything small, cute and cuddly.

Nevertheless, Daisy and my father developed an inseparable bond, perhaps united in their own hatred for all things not of their species.

Besides Daisy, I had a great relationship with all of my animals, especially the hamsters. Around the age of 12 or 13 I adopted a Campbell’s Russian dwarf hamster named Blinky. Blinky was the light of my life, and I cared for him nonstop. In order to properly provide for my pint-sized companion, I did tons of research on hamster care on the internet. To this day I can tell you what bedding causes respiratory problems in rodents, what disease is most common in hamsters, and I can differentiate between the real species name and the false monikers given to pet shop hamsters in order to make them sound more appealing (for example, there’s no such thing as a black bear hamster- it’s really just a black Syria). Unfortunately, Blinky dearest passed away within a year due to diabetes. Yes, hamsters evidently are very susceptible to diabetes. Although I was heartbroken, I quickly bought some more hamsters to fill the void.


This is my hedgehog Oliver. Unfortunately Jo Jo has a skin condition and therefore I'm not currently photographing her... hopefully she'll get well soon.

In case you didn’t know, I now am a proud owner of two hedgehogs, Jo Jo and Oliver (who is pictured above). Jo Jo actually turned out to be pregnant when we got her, which is how I came into possession of Oliver. The rest of her babies were given away. Jo Jo behaves somewhat like a crotchety old lady and she’s rather temperamental, but she’s quite the softie at heart. Oliver, on the other hand, is an obese lump who loves nothing more than a good snuggle session. I’ve had them for about a year and a half now and I couldn’t love them any more if I tried.