Thursday, February 08, 2007

Bye, Beloved Buddy

Young Buddy. The Old Days
The unfortunate incident proved to be too much for Buddy, our most beloved hamster.

The Shock

On my way back from work today, just as I left the office after an eventful work day, my son called me over my cell phone to inform me that Buddy has died. His body was still warm.

My heart dropped upon hearing the news. My son just hung on to the phone, spoke nothing except whispers of sobbing if I am not wrong amid the buzzing of cars passing me by the road side.

The Denial

My mind was a blank... I just told him to hold-on to Buddy, to give him warmth, maybe he really needed companion in his fight to survive. I was deluding myself, I know, I was just hoping that Buddy was not dead yet.

I flagged a cab to return home quickly instead. I needed to be with Buddy as fast as possible, maybe... just maybe Buddy will know that we are there for him to fight on and live through this. Yes, I was deluding myself still.

When I reached home, my son had Buddy wrapped up in layers of tissue. His body stiff and cold. Both eyes still glistening from a little slit opening... as if looking at us.

My son was truly sad as he handed over Buddy to me.

I stroked Buddy's forehead like I always do for quite a long while. Maybe he would become alive again, a miracle was what I was waiting for, as I sat at the sofa looking at his face.

The Grieving

My son left me alone with Buddy and retreated to his room. I hate to admit it, but I stole a cry quietly as I sat stroking lifeless Buddy. Was not a manly reaction to expect from me, I would not know what I will do if my son saw me crying over a small creature... but Buddy was my personal favourite.

He was the one from the first time I pointed to in the glass enclosure, amongst so many in a group in Sam's Pet Shop at Marine Parade Promenade.

He was the one Puffy did not reject and the one who did not attacked Puffy when the shop keeper tried to pair them together. In fact, Buddy regurgitated food from his pouch in his mouth and Puffy accepted him by eating it up. Sweet!

It was totally amazing to see such selfless act from a selected companion, a buddy for life. Thus his name.

After my secret grieving alone, I placed Buddy, wrapped with tissue paper on my PC desk to wait for Wifey to come home and see Buddy for the last time. Bid him farewell.

We will bury him beside Chubby under the tree in front of our bedroom window tomorrow.

The Anger!

I just do not get it!

Although Buddy was wounded with a gaping wound, there was no sign of infection during my daily checks on him.

He was understandably weak for the whole day after the attack, but he began to be himself again... dotting about, responding to our calls by coming towards the side of the cage to us.

He was out and about, eating and drinking and lively as the wound was clearly drying up. It was this morning that my son who is on medical leave for two days himself, noticed that Buddy was not moving and could barely walk.

After asking for my permission, he brought Buddy to Pet Safari's Animal Recovery Centre at 3:30pm this afternoon all by himself. With an emergency money kept at home, he took about $150.00 with him for the vet to save Buddy. I admire him for being brave and independent to save a life.

The vet said that Buddy was a little dehydrated, but should recover if he responded to the antibiotics and vitamins that were administered to him. It cost only S$36.00 for consultation and medicines... but no guarantees, she said.

Last checked with my son at about 5:00pm, Buddy was more alert and moving around in his cage. He was grooming, my son told me. I was relieved, but I know I did not want to keep my hopes too high.

The condition was just like the late Chubby then, after coming back from the vet. Chubby was alert but died a day later.

Letting Go...

I know all three of us will need a little time to get over this loss. That empty cage is how we feel. Our son's favorite buddy is no longer with us... after over a year and a half.

Oh, Buddy! We love you so much boy. No pain now, Buddy... no pain. Beautiful soul returned to his Creator.

Good bye, our most beloved pet.

13 comments:

  1. I am so sorry for your loss. You and your son are in my thoughts. The loss of a family member like this is so hard for non animal lovers to understand.

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  2. Oh Imran, I am so so sorry...:(..I cried upon reading this post..I can feel how much it hurt you and affected you..but know that you all did your best and "more"..you gave Buddy what you gave your other pets that were and "are" part of your family..you gave them "Love" and may Buddy's spirit "shine on" all around you. Precious little Buddy isn't hurting anymore..and I know its so hard..again I'm so sorry I grieve with you.

    What about getting another hamster maybe? Like right away..or not?..they say sometimes that helps.

    Animals are wonderful and so precious. They teach us much don't they? How precious love is, no matter how short a time we have it.

    Sweet Angel Blessings for "Buddy"...

    Rhiannon

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  3. Imran - I'm so sorry. Buddy's life was blessed to have your family take care of him.

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  4. Hello All,

    Thank you for stopping by.

    DNR | It is very sad to let anything go once you have attached and love it for some time.

    Thank you for the kind message. Indeed only animal lovers may understand the loss.

    Rhiannon | You are such a kind and gentle soul. My eyes teared when I read your message. It touched me deeply with your sincerity. Thank you.

    I know we did as much we could, Sometime I wonder and regret I did not send Buddy to the vet immediately after the incident.

    Instead he had to endure the pain all the way towards the end. I don't know.

    Oh, we have more hamsters than we can cope with. With Buddy gone, we still have 45... all descendants of Buddy!

    We stopped naming them as there were just too many in HamsterVille, and they all look alike except only a few which are distinctive.

    Yes, animals are wonderful beings, teaching us and bring our family closer together more than we know.

    Barbara | We are blessed to have met and taken Buddy home with us.

    It may seem silly to make such a big fuss with something like this, but Buddy has been a great addition to our family and we miss him already.


    Thank you all again for your kind thoughts.

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  5. very sad -- I think that's one of the reason that I don't have pets anymore -- if you don't have them, you don't lose them.

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  6. Sorry about that man, losing a pet can be really emotional.

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  7. Imran, I'm very sorry to read about Buddy's death. You will miss your papa hamster very much!
    mp

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  8. I haven't had a 'connection' for a while and yours was the first site I paused at. Oh Imran I am so very sorry, and I agree with dnr, non animal lovers would find it difficult to understand the intensity that you and your famuly are grieving right now. My thoughts are with you all. So sad, so very sad....It's a tough way for kids to learn about life and death eh?

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  9. I'm so sorry for your loss Imran. One of my dearest friends loss her hamster as well few years ago and was devestated - he was a part of the family. So I actuallyu took the day off from uni to stay by her side.

    My thoughts go out to your family.

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  10. My condolences for your loss.

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  11. oh my...poor buddy...i am so sorry. take the time you need to grieve. so hard to lose a member of your family like that.

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  12. Hello All,

    Thank you for your messages.

    Andrew | I guess it will be easier having no pet. Someone who said "better to have loved, than never to have loved before" should feel the sadness.

    But it is that sadness once overcome, reveals how wonderful to love is. Priceless.

    C-Del | I know. I get like this many times when a pet dies. Guess all 3 of us are about the same.

    We love our pets and feel devastated when death comes as it is part of life. We can only give our love and best care for them as we hope to care for ourselves and the people around us.

    Mompoet | We miss him very much already. He has been so special a hamster.

    Silly and childish it seems, but if I could understand hamster language...

    Tanie | It was our pet, but the loss of a life is always painful. To die in a such a manner is beyond comprehension, even for a small creature like Buddy.

    It is tough for our son to learn about death, but he knows that we are also sad about this and that we are here for him as he grasp the reality of life.

    Ellen | Yes, small and cute packages. Oh the joy this tiny creature brought is to us is worth the painful departure.

    Once you named a pet and lived with it for a long time, it becomes a member of the family eventually. Buddy was family.

    Crashdummie | I think that was a nice thing to do for a dying pet.

    I wish I was there when Buddy was dying to tell him that it is alright to go, the pain will go away too. Buddy means a lot to me personally. Silly, but it is true.

    Rose | Thank you. I cannot help feeling that I am making a big fuss over this little creature, but Buddy is family to us.

    This blog is a vent for me over this loss.

    Meander | We are dealing with this our own individual way... and in time we will get over this and remember beautiful thoughts of Buddy.

    He was the best and unique hamster we had interestingly so because he was our first experience of having pet hamsters.


    Thank you all again for the kind words and thoughts for us.

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  13. I have a teddybear hammie named Herbie. I will be devastated when he passes on. He's like one of our family.

    I love hamsters!!

    So sorry to hear about your little Buddy....your post really moved me.

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Hello Everyone,

Thank you for stopping by and leaving me your messages. I will also try to answer any questions you may have for me.

Thanks again and have a good day.

Regards,
Muhd Imran
PAL Blogger