Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Lauren has been reading a series of Oz books she received as a Hanukkah gift.  So of course it didn't take too long when she received a pet hamster to choose a name.



Say hello to Dorothy.

A brownish/grayish teddy bear hamster with funky patches of hair that jut out in all directions.

And if you ever thought a hamster couldn't muster up a personality, this skittish bundle certainly would prove you wrong.  We've all kind of fallen for her.




A few of her favorite activities:

1.  Hanging out in the tube.


[She's a little plump, so the first time she was motionless in there for more than a minute, I was absolutely certain she was wedged in place and was suffocating.  Now that I've seen what a contortionist she is, I know that's not possible.]

2.  Spending quality time with her friend Snickerdoodle.



3.  Helping Joe solve computer issues.





Her trademark move, however?

Disappearing.

Oh yes.  She loves more than anything to figure out new ways to escape from her cage in the dead of night and roam throughout the house.  Thus far she's had a taste of freedom on two occasions.  Her inaugural move involved unlatching the compartment on the top of the cage (which is now secured with multiple pieces of tape) and we discovered at 6 a.m. the following morning that she was gone.  In a house like ours, I was sure she was lost somewhere in a closet and we would never find her again.   Lo and behold, however, by 9 p.m. that evening, I discovered her in the family room area, just hanging out.  Apparently the need for food and water trumps exploring forbidden places.

Her next magic trick was to somehow push out a large plastic plug covering a hole in the top of the cage.  As this plug was quite secure, I have to admit I was pretty impressed by her ingenuity (alas, even more tape was called for).  This time, however, it only took until about 7 a.m. for our girl, bright eyed and not-so-bushy-tailed, to emerge.  From the pantry.  Where no doubt, she was looking for sustenance so she could continue her Houdini ways.

The family room and pantry areas are at the complete opposite end of our home from the desk area by Lauren's room where Dorothy lives.  But while amazed at the distance she can travel, we have been most puzzled by how the heck she has managed to get herself down from the desktop, which is almost 3 feet off the ground.

Of course we had to find out.  So Operation Escape was implemented last night.  The surveillance operation began at 9:00 p.m. when we opened her cage.  Then took cover with a zoom lens.

9:03 p.m.:  Our inmate makes a break for it and after hiding for a minute behind her cage, emerges.



9:04 p.m.:  She traverses across Norm's Life Project from USC Biz School, trying to camouflage herself behind an elephant and the Trojan flag (as if).



9:05 p.m.:  She treads lightly across the other land mines, making her way toward the edge of the counter.



9:06 p.m.:  Peering over the edge, she contemplates her next move.





9:07 p.m.:  Clicking her heels together, she makes the leap - right into the seat of the upholstered chair tucked under the desk.



9:08 p.m.:  Using her velcro-like feet with razor-sharp nails, she ascends the chair until she reaches the arm.



9:09 p.m.:  Assuming her superhero SpiderHamster persona, she then proceeds to scale down the wall.



9:10 p.m.:  Once she safely reaches the floor, she thinks she's home free and leisurely continues on her quest to find the Wizard.



Whereupon she is promptly snatched up and put right back in her cage.

Game on, little Dorothy.

There's no place like home.