Condolences for your loss.

Posted March 12, 2007 1:03 PM by Nancy C

My sympathies for the deaprture of the engaging and endearing Porco Bruno from your lives. Even is as short a time as he had to work with, it's amazing how deeply they can dig into our hearts.

As for the new guy, given the Ash Wednesday marking, and the Syrian breed, may I point out Wikipedia's list of Syrian saints?

Given the cheerful disposition, John Chrysostom may not be the best choice, but there are others on the list.

Posted March 12, 2007 1:06 PM by fidelio

I'm so sorry for your loss, and wish you much happiness with the new guy.

Posted March 12, 2007 1:11 PM by Stephen Granade

My condolences, Teresa.

As for the new baby, since he's grey, why not call him Gandalf? Or Fafhrd?

Posted March 12, 2007 1:15 PM by Serge

Condolences, Teresa.

(BTW, wouldn't Fafhrd be the hamster's companion?)

I'm sure the new hamster will let you know his name any minute now.

Posted March 12, 2007 1:23 PM by JC

He's not gray. He's slighty grayed out, and has various light gray to graphite gray markings.

It feels strange to have a normally behaved hamster.

Posted March 12, 2007 1:23 PM by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

"Greyfir"?

Man, but they are so much a part of our lives...

Posted March 12, 2007 1:29 PM by dan

A normally behaved hamster...

Posted March 12, 2007 1:32 PM by Serge

I mean, could hamsters get megalomaniac tendencies like certain white mice did?

"Today the Nielsen Hayden abode, tomorrow the world!"

Posted March 12, 2007 1:38 PM by Serge

I was going to mention Shaun the Sheep, but then you added the sad news about Porco Bruno.

Guy Kewney has some interesting commentary on what the BBC and YouTube are doing.

Posted March 12, 2007 1:42 PM by Dave Bell

My condolences, Teresa.

I checked out the list of Syrian saints, and I have to admit that Frumentious seems to be just begging to be applied to the right hamster.

Posted March 12, 2007 2:25 PM by Claude Muncey

I am so, so sorry. Your stories about him are fascinating. Tales of Porco, and the photos/stories on Cute Overload, have got me thinking about "hammies" as much more interesting critters than I thought they were.

Posted March 12, 2007 2:26 PM by CaseyL

When I put the link up, I had only given the list a quick look, long enough to notice the Golden-tongued and also the various Simeon Stylites. But St. Raphael of Brooklyn is on the list as well.

Posted March 12, 2007 2:31 PM by fidelio

I think "he had a good life" is the best thing we can do for the various critters we take responsibility for bringing into our families. Quantity of life is always to be hoped for, but quality is better.

Not that this makes grief any easier, for wee silly roaring hamsters or anything else. Add my condolences to the rest.

Posted March 12, 2007 2:33 PM by Dan Layman-Kennedy

Brooklyn has its own saint!! Yes, that Brooklyn. Who knew? St. Raphael of Brooklyn, how wonderful. Fidelio, thank you so much.

Posted March 12, 2007 3:05 PM by Lizzy L

Re: naming

Chiana wouldn't be appropriate; is there a good male Nebari name?

Posted March 12, 2007 3:11 PM by Rob Rusick

#15 Lizzy
I was highly entertained, myself. Note that he's an Orthodox saint.

Posted March 12, 2007 3:20 PM by fidelio

We are blesssed to have with us still, a guinea pig.

She is the last of what used to be a huge colony (the nature of guinea pigs is such we felt obliged to breed them).

But we moved, and when we moved we had divest ourselves of them. One of them is still with the friends who took her, and by happenstance we are sharing a house with them.

She is, though I forget her exact age, between five and six; which is ancient for a guinea pig. Still alert, and noisy; full of vigor and good cheer.

Having her to give weeds to from work in the yard is a wonderful thing.

Posted March 12, 2007 3:36 PM by Terry Karney

Sympathies.

Posted March 12, 2007 3:44 PM by Randolph Fritz

Aw, Teresa, I'm sorry about Porco Bruno. I loved your stories about him.

I had a hamster who also liked exploring bookshelves. She could push the smaller books out to make herself little niches behind. Any given session would usually end when she started chewing on a heavier book, presumably in order to make a tunnel in it.

P.

Posted March 12, 2007 3:50 PM by Pamela Dean

I'm very sorry about Porco Bruno.

"Aureliano" might be an appropriate name for the new guy, given the permanent Ash Wednesday splotch; or would that be ill-omened?

Posted March 12, 2007 4:06 PM by Christina Schulman

I'm sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. He was a lucky little guy to be so loved.

And "Frumentious" is a tremendously wonderful name.

Posted March 12, 2007 4:07 PM by RedMolly

I am sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. It's amazing how much personality per gram hamsters manage to pack in.

Posted March 12, 2007 4:11 PM by abi

Condolences for the loss of Porco Bruno. May his successor fill your days with as much personality and delight as he did.

Posted March 12, 2007 5:18 PM by Nicole J. LeBoeuf-Little

Very sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. Good luck on finding an appropriate name for the new hamster-in-residence.

Posted March 12, 2007 5:50 PM by Margaret Organ-Kean

Teresa,

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of Porco Bruno. It's very hard to lose an animal you've made a member of your family, and a part of your daily life.

Posted March 12, 2007 5:58 PM by Bruce Cohen, SpeakerToManagers

Oh no. My condolences.

Posted March 12, 2007 6:06 PM by Greg London

Porco Bruno was a fine creature, and I'm glad I got to know him. Sleep well, roaring hamster.

I understand the new resident is also a vocalizer, and makes a chuff-chuff-chuff noise. Perhaps the name Isambard Kingdom Brunel would suit?

Posted March 12, 2007 6:07 PM by elise

Very sorry for your loss—and ours, since PB was such a font of "weird hamster" stories.

Posted March 12, 2007 6:25 PM by Xopher

Aw, I'm sorry that Porco Bruno had such a short run. The idea of a hamster that roared was charming.

Posted March 12, 2007 6:28 PM by Scorpio

Waaah. Now I want another one. (last one, Amber Hamster, lived in complete peril from the cats, Ajacat had her out of her habitat more often than I care to think about but managed not to kill her because Ajacat didn't have it in her. And Amber lived a very long time for a hamster.

Once I'm old and gray and don't want another pet with a potential to live nearly 20 years, AND attrition has taken the cats, maybe I'll have another hammie of my own. (I've got a feline right now, though she's dumb as a rock she is a killer with small furry things--she's my cat police.)

Posted March 12, 2007 7:50 PM by Paula Helm Murray

Very sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. If hamsters lived as long as they were loved, they'd be immortal. Even our cats missed Sam when he passed on.

Posted March 12, 2007 8:05 PM by DaveL

Sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. Since the new guy has dark jowl stripes, he might be Arctonyx Collaris.

Posted March 12, 2007 8:09 PM by Niall McAuley

It's so hard when we have little companions with shorter lives. I'm very sorry for you guys, and I hope the new hamster brings you joy.

BTW, the hamsterhouse domain won't come up for me.

Posted March 12, 2007 9:06 PM by Marilee

Patrick says (with confidence) that the hamster's name is Hiro Frumentius.

Posted March 12, 2007 9:17 PM by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

Oh, that's really too bad about PB.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't have the fortitude to have eensy pets. Saying goodbye so frequently would be very, very hard for me. Seventeen years (how long I had my cat who just died) is Not Long Enough for me.

Looking forward to new hamster stories -- they are so wonderfully expressive and cute, and I love to enjoy them vicariously.

Posted March 12, 2007 9:59 PM by Rose

While you are figuring out the name, the New Guy is very likely figuring out exactly what sort of odd behavior will most amuse the Lady and Lord of the house. I'm sorry to hear about PB; he was a fine small fellow.

Posted March 12, 2007 10:45 PM by Madeleine Robins

T, so sorry for the loss of Porco Bruno!

Posted March 12, 2007 10:51 PM by beth meacham

My condolences, Teresa.

Posted March 12, 2007 10:51 PM by Fragano Ledgister

Fidelio at 17: I do note that. One of my favorite writers on things spiritual is an Orthodox priest, John Garvey. Teresa, I'm sorry about PB. And Hiro Frumentius is a stupendous name.

Posted March 12, 2007 11:16 PM by Lizzy L

Lizzy, #40: Thank you!

Posted March 12, 2007 11:28 PM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

that's a stupendous name! All creatures have their own way of naming themselves and it sounds as if Patrick has divined it.

We're guessing the next couple of kittens (well, when we start looking) and hoping they want to be named Sigfried and Yum!. If I get one that's a Queenly Cat that won't happen.

Posted March 12, 2007 11:34 PM by Paula Helm Murray

Oh no! I'm so sorry! He was lovely and I am glad to have known him. I hope you post pictures of the new one soon.

Posted March 13, 2007 12:45 AM by Torie

I'm so very sorry for your loss.

Posted March 13, 2007 12:58 AM by Nina Armstrong

How sad for you, the little guys make nests in our hearts and souls and we miss them so much when they are gone.

What a wonderful name for new generation. Congratulations on the new family member.

Posted March 13, 2007 1:24 AM by Tania

Sorry to hear the sad news about Porco Bruno. I'm glad for his sake, though, you were able to be there to comfort him at the end.

But welcome to Hiro Frumentius! May he live long in your hearts and your hamster cage.

Posted March 13, 2007 2:13 AM by Lois Fundis

I went and read your valedictory to Porco Bruno, and it was lovely. Ave atque vale.

Posted March 13, 2007 4:14 AM by David Goldfarb

My condolences on the demise of Porco Bruno. He was a lucky critter to have you as family.

Patrick says (with confidence) that the hamster's name is Hiro Frumentius.

Wonderful name.

Posted March 13, 2007 8:08 AM by Janet Kegg

Hiro Frumentius--he's Global Hamster!

Posted March 13, 2007 8:32 AM by fidelio

My sympathies too. Losing a pet is always so hard!

Last night, I think it was ABC news (national) that had a brief story about fortune-telling hamsters in India: the critter goes up to a pack of heavy looking (tarot?) cards, flings away several, then comes up with its choice. A quick Web search turned up fortune-telling *toy* hamsters, but not this story. Oh well.

Posted March 13, 2007 11:06 AM by Faren Miller

Surely with an Ash Wednesday spot, you can't help but name him Marty Grah?

Posted March 13, 2007 11:16 AM by retterson

JC @ 5... wouldn't Fafhrd be the hamster's companion?

Yes, but calling him the Grey Mouser conjures up images of an assassin of non-hamster rodents.

Posted March 13, 2007 12:20 PM by Serge

A white rectangle glows in the dim backyard light: a business card. The intern snatches it from him on her next orbit, reads it. It says

HIRO FRUMENTIOUS

Last of the freelance hamsters
Greatest sword fighter in the world
Copyeditor, Tor Books
Specialising in cereal-related intel
(alfalfa, barley & wholewheat)

"Stupid name," she says, shoving the card into one of a hundred little pockets on her coverall.
"But you'll never forget it," Hiro says.
"If you're a hamster..."
"How come I'm delivering pizzas?"
"Right."
"Because I'm a freelance hamster."

Posted March 13, 2007 12:28 PM by ajay

He was a lucky hamster, to be so loved! I'm so sorry to hear it, though I'm glad there's a new, bright-eyed fuzzbit with a grand and exalted name: Hiro-sama!

We're rodentless for the first time in a long while, as we acquired an active (read: psychotic) kitten after the loss of our last dwarf hamster. After years of tiny squeaking wheels in the middle of the night, and that one year with eight gerbil babies, it's strange to have an empty spot on the mantle.

And the cats, for some reason, have no interest in sunflower seeds carefully hulled in advance.

Posted March 13, 2007 1:51 PM by L. S. Baird

At #50, Faren Miller mentioned fortune-telling hamsters in India: the critter goes up to a pack of heavy looking (tarot?) cards, flings away several, then comes up with its choice.

There's video here, from Keith Olbermann's Oddball segment last night (Monday the 12th). It's a guinea pig, not a hamster, but it was still little and furry and cute. As opposed to the bit just afterward with rattlesnakes in Texas -- some folks might want to be forewarned of that! (It did occur to me to wonder if any of the kids shown in *that* segment are parselmouths.)

Posted March 13, 2007 5:32 PM by Lois Fundis

Esther Friesner has oracular hamsters who appear at conventions to perform Cheeble-mancy.

Posted March 13, 2007 6:00 PM by James D. Macdonald

I LOVES Esther's hamsters. I've given much to the EMF that way. (I've also given much other ways but that's a good one).

Posted March 13, 2007 11:12 PM by Paula Helm Murray

tiny squeaking wheels in the middle of the night

Vegetable oil is good for that; just apply to the center bar with a napkin, and you should have a nice silent wheel for at least a few weeks. (Do not use anything poisonous, because the beasties will lick it.)

Posted March 13, 2007 11:51 PM by Christina Schulman

Very sorry to hear of your loss. I'm looking at my almost-17 cat Gypsy and worrying about how much longer he will last. It's hard when we lose them, but it was worth knowing them even when the time is short.

Posted March 14, 2007 1:17 PM by Anne Sheller

Hamsters steal our hearts and stuff them in their cheek pouches. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Posted March 14, 2007 2:26 PM by Kevin J. Maroney

These funny little guys have a habit of wriggling their way into our hearts, don't they?

I'm waiting for my little one to go, he's about two and starting to lose his hair. I'm not sure I'll get another. He was a male returned to my pet store, which is a 'female' store, he'd been purchased at a 'male' store. Splitting the stores into male and female stores helps prevent unwanted pregnancies. I took him home because he was sooo cute, and had been there for awhile since we couldn't sell him due to him being male (I forget the reason why we couldn't just send him back to his store-of-origin). Supposedly he bit his first owner, which is odd because he's the sweetest thing ever. I'll be sorry to see him go.

Posted March 14, 2007 3:55 PM by platedlizard

great pix there of the late lamented Porco Bruno and the new kid. I loves their little handses.

Then again, the hamster I had while I lived in Lawrence, KS disappeared unexpectedly (cage lid ajar), didn't turn up in apartment when we cleaned/cleared out. Disappeared the same time as ONE of Jim's high-top sneakers and a 10-inch chef's knife. We figured Ursula hamster decamped with a mobile home and protection...

Posted March 15, 2007 12:01 AM by Paula Helm Murray

I'm sorry for your loss, Patrick and Teresa. But congratulations on the new arrival!

Posted March 15, 2007 3:30 AM by Mitch Wagner

More hamstery goodness in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2034072,00.html

Posted March 15, 2007 7:32 AM by Eve

It's really spooky how one looks at the picture of the newbie and thinks, "Well, of course his name is Hiro Frumentius."

Posted March 15, 2007 8:47 AM by DaveL

Today's Guardian on hamsters "Long dismissed as lumps of fluff that do nothing but sleep all day and fill their cheeks with food all night, hamsters, it seems, are staking a claim to be the indestructible daredevils of the animal world."

Posted March 15, 2007 10:15 AM by Alan Braggins

Hmmph. It ate my link again. That was
http://www.guardian.co.uk/animalrights/story/0,,2034346,00.html

Posted March 15, 2007 10:19 AM by Alan Braggins

And now I see Eve had already posted it anyway. Sorry.

Posted March 15, 2007 10:20 AM by Alan Braggins

I've always found graphite to be good for lubricating hamster wheels.

Posted March 15, 2007 10:35 AM by James D. Macdonald

I was sorry to read of Porco Bruno's demise - belated condolences on your loss. Through your stories of him, he won so many hearts.

As for the new Hiro Frumentious, welcome!

I want a skein of the same self-striping yarn that the Great Knitter used in his creation -- what amazing patterns!

Harriet
(who first thought the Sidelight was titled
New Hampshire Hamsters Old and New, before
the, er, light broke)

Posted March 15, 2007 10:48 AM by Harriet

Here's a BBC story of great relevance:

Trapped hamster saved by vacuum

Posted March 17, 2007 3:45 AM by Dave Langford