Mariko's Hamster

 

A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast:

but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

— Proverbs 12:10

 

We all love our pets. But I think I know the world record-holder in hamster love . . . our neighbor and family friend, Mariko.

 

The touching story of how she saved a little hamster, first from certain death as a post-Christmas throwaway, and then from a medical crisis, balances out my heart every time I hear another sad story in which somebody was less than kind to animals. Wish they could spend an hour with Mariko and some of her menagerie, and learn what it really means to be an animal lover.

 

 

 

 

Mariko with her best friend, Woolfie. She rescued him from a bad situation.

His name honors one of her favorite writers, Virginia Woolf.

 

Mariko is an animal welfare expert, on her way to earning a master's degree in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University, where she delved in to all kinds of stuff that makes a lot of people mad, such as dolphin hunting.

 

She also graduated from Swarthmore, where her thesis was "Language of Anthropomorphism and Its Effect on Animal Rights."

 

She has been a dolphin intern at the Minnesota Zoo, a veterinary assistant, a raccoon "wrangler," rode dressage on her horse for 15 years, has traveled to a lot of other countries, is in to art, and now this multitalented young woman is interviewing for some cool animal-related jobs. So she's on her way.

 

 

Creating art at college. Photo by Jim Graham.

 

 

I'm always fascinated to learn how people who have great passion for their life's work got their start. In Mariko's case, it happened at about age 13 with a hamster.

 

She named her "Hamuchan," which actually means "Little Ham" in her native Japanese, close enough to "Little Hamster." This one was a little of both.

 

Mariko just loved observing this hamster and her behaviors. The tiny creature would twirl around and around on a baton, like a mini-gymnast. Mariko was in seventh or eighth grade and got her for Christmas. But, true to her pro-animal philosophy, Mariko didn't actually get her ON Christmas. She waited 'til AFTER Christmas, to choose a "leftover" which may not have been as colorful or unusual as some of the others. But by buying her after the big holiday, Mariko felt that she might have been saving the little creature's life.

 

Then one day, she noticed a funny growth on Hamuchan's tummy. It grew, rapidly, and was interfering with her functioning. It was taking up a good portion of the animal's midsection.

 

Now, this was a $10 hamster. What to do?

 

I know what some of you are thinking: "flush the toilet" . . . "wrap her in a toothpaste box and bury her in the backyard" . . . "say 'Sayonara!'"

 

Well! Mariko wasn't in to hamster euthanasia. She loved Hamuchan and wouldn't hear of anything like that. She begged and pleaded with her parents to get Hamuchan some veterinary help. Usually, you don't take small, cheap pets like hamsters in for veterinary care. But Mariko wanted it so much, and vowed to go without birthday presents for the next 50 years . . .

 

. . . so her dad took the day off work, since Mariko had to go to school, and escorted the hamster in for surgery at the vet's, feeling a little sheepish with his minuscule patient next to the Great Danes and Labradors.

 

The dad had almost an out-of-body experience as the vet and staff, dead serious, strapped an eentsy, weentsy oxygen mask on Hamuchan . . . skillfully removed the tumor . . . and put this eentsy, weentsy line of stitches across her tummy. After a short period in the recovery room, he was cleared to take her home . . .

 

. . . after settling up on the surgical bill: $200!!!

 

Two hundred dollars, for a $10 hamster!!!

 

But oh, the rejoicing that night in Mariko's home. No one in the family will ever forget how good it felt. The trauma spurred Mariko on to a big love for biology, including dissection. "I just love looking at things from the inside and translating that to what it means for their functioning," she explains.

 

It was a turning point . . . inspiration . . . the impetus for her to plan on a career involving animals. And now, here she is, living out that girlhood dream that all started with a little hamster that would practically fit in a thimble.

 

Hamuchan went on to live a full and happy life, in hamster terms. She lived a good three years post-surgery, delighting Mariko and her friends and family with her hamster cuteness and rewarding them for their extravagance.

 

 Mariko's tender loving care for her little rodent makes me happy because it gives me a glimpse of how our Heavenly Father cares for us in the exact same way.

 

If Jesus could pay the price of death on the Cross out of love for us, $200 doesn't seem like that big of a deal. The things we do for love . . . are the right things!

 

So let's all do the Hamster Dance . . . and celebrate love in its endless, wonderful, and sometimes furry forms! †