yeah and who knows how many years or months he lived BEFORE he was found waddling across that street! he was fully grown and certainly an adult when my husband brought him home a few months later. he might well have been over 5 years old.

Up until he died from obvious old age (he lost lots of his fur and some of it actually turned grey!), I had a theory that he was a magic hamster who escaped every few years and allowed himself to be found by a new person of his choosing. He was such a swell hamster and he even did tricks. He was an accomplished gymnast! I had this basket with a handle that he liked to climb in. He'd shimmy up the handle and proceed to do flips around the bar of the handle like a male olympis gynmnast. We'd take him out of his cage when company came over and he'd amazone one and all with his daring feats of hamster grace and strength. Oh how I miss poor little Hatchet.

Maybe he'd have lived a little longer if we had thought to grind up some viagra and sprinkle on his chooped apple and strawberries. (his fave fruits)