The Adventures of Sandy

Well, by now, most of you know of our infamous Sandy..."Sandy Sniffy Bugsy Eva Jackie" to be exact! I think she gets a new name with each near death experience. She has more lives than a cat, she's more durable than duct tape...she takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin' much to our amazement! No, we don't allow her proud owner Keaton to abuse her...things just happen when she's with Keaton. I'm sure she wonders what she did to deserve him, but he truly loves her more than anything.

The first mishap I recall was Keaton deciding to give her a tour of one of my lighthouses. It was all good until we tried to get her out. Apparently, she's much larger in reverse! That little door she went in just wasn't quite large enough! I worked and worked while singing the Wonder Pets song in my head..."there's an animal in trouble, there's an animal in trouble..." I thought I'd have to take a saw to the lighthouse about 15 minutes into rescue efforts, but we were finally able to get her out.

One day, Keaton was dancing and twirling in the living room. She was accidentally sent flying through the air, thankfully hitting the blinds instead of the wall before heading to the floor. Gasp! There were looks of horror around the room. Surprisingly, she was only a bit dazed and went back to the safety of her cage for awhile to recover.

Of course, there's also the trip to run errands with the kids when I turn back at a light on 377 to see little Sandy proudly displayed in Keaton's hands. What? You brought her in the car?!?!? How? "Ummm...She crawled in my sleeve!" Oh, yes, Keaton...I'm sure it was her idea. Thankfully, we weren't going in anywhere. I have, however, learned a valuable lesson...pat Keaton down before we leave the house! I can just see him taking her to church!

The most recent crisis involving Sandy began when Keaton fell asleep with her one night. Daddy put the kids to bed while I was out. He and Keaton both forgot to put her up. The next morning, we realized she wasn't in her cage. I had to tell Keaton when he woke up, and he was devastated. We searched for her everywhere. No luck. We set a box trap and put her cage out. No Sandy. Finally, a couple of days later, Daddy found her in a toy box in Landon's room. The smile on Keaton's face was as big as Texas! Pure joy! Then, exactly a week later, Keaton decided to put her in his underwear drawer for safe keeping while he went to the bathroom. What?!?!? I thought my head would spin off! She's lost in my house again!!! Thankfully, Daddy found her about 30 minutes later.

Sandy's adventures are not all bad. She is also an experienced Fisher Price airplane pilot and has sported around in various race cars...which tends work out better than the balls normal hamsters roll around in. (Landon loves to shoot baskets...any ball will do...use your imagination!) She would probably be an accomplished swimmer if I hadn't walked in just as Keaton was about to let her "swim" in the toilet! Sandy has to be the most agreeable hamster alive, and I dread the day she's no longer with us. My Keaton will surely have a break down. I will probably shed a few tears, too.