Hamster of the Month – Jan 2009 – Mayo

Editor’s Note: Hamster Hideout is pleased to present the winner of Jan 09’s ‘Hamster of the Month‘ award – dashingblue’s Mayo – who has recently departed to the rainbow bridge and will always be fondly remembered. The following is dashingblue’s lovely tribute to her adorable Mayo.
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There is a special place in my heart, a place reserved specially for my pets, including my beloved hamster, Mayo, who had left for heaven on 8 January 2009. The place is where the memories live forever, a part of me which I hold so dear…

Mayo was a shy little baby hamster when I got him from a pet shop, along with another hamster called Oreo. Because of his clean white fur, I named him Mayo, short formed for mayonnaise.

I remembered him as a fragile little hamster at the beginning. He suffered a nose allergy from the beddings and was also often bullied by Oreo hamster. I had no choice but to separate the pair. That was when he officially became a bachelor!

It was pitiful to see Mayo so lonely each day so I tried to spend more time with him and made him a lot of things to play so he could be happy.

I love to source for cute little toys to decorate his house. He loved it. I also hand made a hamster maze which Mayo was the first to try! And he played cheat by taking the short cut to find the sunflower seeds! How he made me laugh so hard at that time!

Mayo’s Home

Mayo also became my first hamster model because I think he was very photogenic. I even had some photoshoots done for him which I feature them in my humble little blog!

An unforgettable moment was when Mayo fell asleep on my palm. I was surprised! It was a heart-felt moment… I can never forget this warmth that almost melted my heart that day as I watched him sleep “with” me. He was really a darling.

Soon, our hamster-owner relationship grew closer and closer… He was always excited to see me. He would come forward and waved his little paws in the air as if telling me, “Hello owner! Pick me up! I want to play with you!” How can I resist this little sweetheart…

Sometimes Mayo would wake up upon sensing me watching him sleep too! I seriously think he had this GPA system installed to sense me!

He loves human companion, especially me… He enjoys playtime and also tickles on his belly!

On December 2008, Mayo was diagnosed with cancer. He had a big cancerous lump growing in his right cheek. I couldn’t come to term with this fact that he may leave me sooner than I thought. But Mayo was very strong. And I realized how much he had grown and changed from the first day I got him.

He left for heaven peacefully on the 8 January 2009. In my heart, I knew he had tried his best to fight with cancer, I knew he had tried to stay happy and strong just for me, and above all, I knew he wanted me to stay strong just like him even when he was gone. And so I called Mayo my brave little warrior who fought right until the end…

Mayo may be just a hamster, but he is a very special one. I will never forget everything Mayo had done for me and the love he had given me. During the time Mayo was with me, every minute spent was very memorable. We had formed this special owner-hamster bond which no one could have.

I am very thankful to everyone who had voted Mayo to be January 2009 Hamster of The Month. It is last thing I could do for Mayo and I am sure Mayo is very happy to know of this in heaven.

A Kiss for Mayo

Before I end this, I wish to say, “Thank you Mayo boy for all the wonderful memories you had given me. I will always remember you in my heart. I love you.”

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Credits: HH Designer Cloudpuff for making the award certificate

See past and present winners, at the HH Hall of Fame

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Tagged as: contest, dwarf, hamham, hammy, hamster, Hamster of the Month