I finally know what the book is about.

I always wondered what the story "Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie" was about. Until today.

It is the story of a lovely and friendly hamster who gets lost in the ductwork of a house for 5 days. She is finally found in a duffel bag at the bottom of one of the vents.

All seems well, but then a few days later she develops an eye problem and is taken to the veterinarian. She is a nice hamster, and doesn't even try to bite. Dr. H is impressed with her cuteness and nice personality.

Dr. H is quite sure that the problem around her eye is actually an abscess and takes her into the back of the clinic to lance it because she doesn't want the small child with the hamster to be sad about the gross stuff that is about to come out of Huey's face.

Huey is quite cooperative, but has tough skin. Dr. H tries to poke a hole in it with a biopsy punch, but no luck. She tries again, pushing harder. Still no luck. Then she gives it a tiny nick with a scalpel.

THEN A GREAT BIG STREAM OF PUS LAUNCHES ONTO DR H's CHEEK, GLASSES, AND BANGS.

Huey feels much better and goes home on antibiotics and pain medication.

Dr. H washes her face, glasses, and hair. Then she washes her face again. It was her turn to be the smelly person on the bus tonight anyway. Dr. H is very glad that she wears glasses instead of contacts.

THE END

Just for Jamie

I'm working at a clinic that sees all kinds of small creatures this week. I've treated geckos and ferrets and birds and bunnies and guinea pigs. I had to laugh when I walked in to the back on Friday and saw that the clinic not only has 2 budgies and a conure, they also have......A SKINNY PIG!!!!

I hadn't given any thought to skinny pigs in a few years, then Jamie posted on her blog about how much she loves them last week. This one is a bit weird looking because he's albino (and because he's a skinny pig). I forget what his name is, but it's an African word for hippo.

Some advice for those of you who want to own strange little animals:

Alberta is a very dry part of the world.

It's not the best area for geckos and other creatures with the consistency of a gummy bear to live. Stick to something with fur or that came from a desert in the first place.

Why I love my neighborhood.

I got up early this morning to go to the gym (yay me!) and decided to take the garbage out on my way. I usually just toss it over the fence into the dumpster, but this morning I could hear somebody rummaging around inside the dumpster.

What to do?

I'm not the kind of person to throw garbage on somebody just because they're dumpster diving, and I'm glad people go through and take out all the bottles and cans. I silently hemmed and hawed for a minute. Should I lean the garbage against the wall of our building and throw it out when I get back? What if they tear it open looking for bottles and make a mess? Should I just yell "heads up!"?

I decided to walk around the dumpster as stompily as I could to catch his or her attention. He heard me and popped his head out with a very friendly "good morning!". He is a senior man who looks like the kind of neighbor you would love to have, who would spend all day picking sticks and leaves off of his lawn.

He reached out and took the garbage bag from me, and I explained that there were no bottles or cans in it because I take those out separately and leave them next to the dumpster.

"Oh yes, I got those the other morning. Thank-you very much."

So I went on my way and started the car. While in the car I noticed him frantically running back and forth across the alley. Was somebody yelling at him or being mean to him? When I got out to brush the snow off the running car, he caught me looking around for him and explained:

"I like to have a little fun chasing the rabbits."

He was chasing the wild hares around the back alley for shits and giggles at 6:45 am. We had a short conversation about the abundance of hares in the area, and then I left for the gym.

I'll have to learn that guy's name.