Percival (2007–2007)

It brings me much sorrow to report the passing of Percival, a hamster Claire adopted so recently that he had yet to make an appearance in this blog.

Claire had been on the lookout for a hamster, preferably a female one, and she had been giving me reports of the the cute ones and the sickly ones, and one little guy that seemed particularly feisty and less friendly than the others. While this wasn't exactly a glowing review, I had suspicions that I might be hearing more about the guy. He managed to make an impression, which is no small accomplishment when you're three inches tall and look pretty similar to everyone around you. Sure enough Claire started the next phone call with a guess what?, and I managed to guess what pretty quickly.

As he was getting settled in, Claire referred to him as her 'ham,' and I called him 'the little guy.' One evening, while navigating London by map my eyes happened upon Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, and I realized I liked the name. The Arthurian connotations seemed to fit well since Percival must have seemed a little fierce when the knights first found him in the woods. Claire liked the name, too, and noted that it fit the connections with Perseus, since the little guy had wing-like tufts of fur on his haunches.

About a day after the name was selected, Percy began to exhibit symptoms of wet-tail, a disease that affects many young hamsters, especially those whose immune systems are weakened by the stress of the shipping process. Other hamsters at the store had been showing the symptoms, so it wasn't hard to believe that Percy had managed to contract it. Claire gave him medication and lots of tender loving care, and he was showing signs of improvement in the last day or so, taking brief spins on his wheel and eating a little more. Recovery, though, was not in the cards for Percy, and he died during the night.

Though I never met Percival, he will forever maintain a special place in my heart as the first pet I named.