So it was back to Aardvark Pets, but this time, I decided to wait it out.  On April 5th, 2007, I asked the owner to request a new baby from his breeder, giving him all the details.  And the wait began.  Every couple of weeks, he would call me to let me know that there were still no females.  I did so miss having a pet around, and with each passing day, I found myself beginning to think more and more about settling for a long-hair.  The only factor that kept me waiting was that I imagined the breeder introducing pairs to each other in the hopes that they would produce my custom-ordered baby.  On June 15th, I was rewarded with the most perfect little baby girl - soft, ginger-coloured, with a snow-white tummy, legs, and chin.  I have no idea where the name Abbey came from as I had not even considered it in the weeks leading up to her birth.  I had planned on Shelby or Alora, Kia, or possibly even Callie.  I spoke to her all the way home - about a 30 minute drive - and somewhere along the way, out came the name Abbey.

Bright, energetic, beautiful, perfect Abbey.  The little one had no fear of humans and on our first night home, she was already taking food from my hand.  And like all the others, she immediately decided her wheel was her new best friend.  Abbey and I spent an hour in the bathroom, with me lying on the floor, and the baby hamster crawling all over me.  Though she seemed somewhat apprehensive about the feel of my skin on her little feet, she did climb onto my outstretched hand a few times.  She positively was not afraid of me - another bonus to getting a hamster directly from their mother.  They haven't been exposed to all the noise and unsettling handling of a pet store environment.  I allowed her to crawl in and out of her ball several times and managed to get her to sit on to my lap twice to empty the droppings out of her ball.  I only kept her out for a short period time as I didn't want to stress her diminutive body.

Abbey adjusted to her adopted family faster than any of my other hamsters.  After only a couple of days, she allowed me to pick her up with no attempts to wriggle away.  Her favourite foods?  She loves broccoli and carrots, but hates watermelon and bananas.  Grapes are her passion, but as far a raisins go, she can take them or leave them. 

September 2007, and Abbey is now four months old.  For some reason, she tries to take all of the aspen shavings from one part of her cage, plus all of her chew toys, and cram them into her tiny SLEEPING AREA.  Twice, I've had to rescue her as she got herself so tightly jammed in her bed that she was unable to push the shavings through the opening.  The nest area was sitting at the center of a t-shaped tube, and as she pushed the shavings back out of the opening, they would create a “log jam” of sorts in the tunnel.  After the second incident, I moved her sleeping area to another opening, without the tube connector, and she hasn't barricaded herself since.  But if, in the future, she does again fill her bed with toys and shavings, at least this position will allow the materials inside her bed to be pushed freely into the cage area.

In addition to coming out of her home every evening to play for a couple of hours, Abbey also likes to get up in the morning to spend time with me before I go to work.  Hard to believe, but when I take the lid off her home, she sits up on her haunches, with her tiny front legs outstretched - like a little toddler in a fur coat - reaching to be picked up.  She truly needs to be held and talked to before settling down for her daytime sleep.  Abbey is turning out to be the most affectionate of all the hamsters so far, but she does have one nasty habit which I have been unable to break … chewing clothing.  None of the others have ever nibbled on apparel, but Abbey finds cotton completely irresistible.  So much so, that she will allow me to play with her ears, stroke her nose, and rub under her chin, all without relinquishing her grip on the clothing.  I now have specific “hamster shirts” that I wear so she doesn't ruin my good clothing.

How will this little bundle of energy mature?  It's always interesting to observe their personalities and characters emerge.  Each one is a distinct individual, with her own likes and dislikes, and I look forward to every precious moment spent with my new little friend, Abbey, on her adventures throughout this world.

June 2008 - Abbey is not doing well.  She acts normally - eating and playing as always - but she is about to undergo surgery on her hip to remove a tumour.  A SEPARATE SECTION was created as a sort of diary of Abbey's treatment and recovery.  Unfortunately, a full recovery was never achieved.

August 16, 2008 - Abbey is in peace at last.  Dr. Ward performed the final act of mercy on my beautiful baby girl as Dr. Konarzewski was not in the clinic this Saturday.  Abbey was placed under inhalation anaesthetic prior to being given the injection to stop her heart.  Dr. Ward even allowed Abbey to remain in her bed, where she felt safe and secure, while administering the gas.  Once Abbey was completely under the anaesthetic, I left the room to allow the doctor to complete the unpleasant, but necessary, task.  As with all my other hamsters, she will be cremated and her remains brought home.

Two weeks ago, Abbey decided she no longer wanted to come out of her house to run and play in her ball.  The following week she stopped running in her wheel.  That was a particularly heart-wrenching episode as the ailing hamster took four or five steps in the wheel, and then exited immediately.  She waited a minute or so, then got back into the wheel and tried again, only to come out after a couple of steps.  Abbey repeated this procedure several times, until she finally gave up, and sat outside of the wheel, looking longingly at it.  That was the last time she attempted to have some fun.

Abbey continued to come out of her bed in the evening for her daily treat of fresh broccoli or fresh carrot, along with a yogurt drop.  And she devoured almost a whole fruit & nut stick in 3 days.  But her sojourns out into the recreational area of her home became shorter and shorter during the last days before her death, until she no longer wanted to leave the comfort of her bed.  Those final evenings saw me getting all the cleaning and fresh bedding materials ready before waking her.  I would coax her out of her bed with a treat, and then very quickly wash down her sleeping area and reline it with fresh aspen and shredded toilet paper.  I did this daily to prevent infection in any of the tumours.  The whole process was over and done in less than 3 minutes and she would gratefully climb back into the clean sleeping compartment as soon as I reattached it to her home, falling asleep almost immediately.  Her sleep, however, was not a deep sleep, as she was constantly disturbed by the tumours covering her tiny body.  I believe they were starting to cause her discomfort, as she would jolt awake and begin nipping or scratching at whatever area was giving her irritation.  How sad that the little girl came through the surgery so well only to succumb to the disease in the end anyhow.  Once again, I have lost another little friend and the story CHOICES (often titled The Little Orange Boy) rings painfully true.

Abbey lives in my heart, and in every animal that I will love after her.