Thursday, Jul. 17, 2003 + 8:56 a.m.
Being a schoolteacher, my step-mother has always brought home small pets for the summer or during Christmas break, so I assumed the gerbil was just a temporary thing, but no, this was their �chosen� pet. Before Vinnie (the gerbil) they had a dog and cat for many years, but after their deaths, for whatever reason, my father decided that he couldn�t handle another dog or cat. So my stepmother got the gerbil. They got pet-sitters whenever they had to be out of town for more than a day or two, they fed him special gerbil treats and let him run around in a �frisky-ball�. It was gerbil-bliss for everyone. And they all lived happily together for a few years until Vinnie took ill (old age comes a-knockin� early when you�re a gerbil). My step-mother took him to the veterinarian for treatment a couple of times and he improved some, but finally the day came when the vet could no longer help out their tiny Vinnie and as it happened, he died at the vet�s office. My step-mother was heartbroken. She struggled with her grief and the loss of the last pet she thought she would ever have. Until she discovered chinchillas.
I don�t know how or why it came up, but sometime in 2001, I got wind of the whole chinchilla idea. �They�re small, low maintenance and incredibly CLEAN animals� my father shared. �Have you considered a cat or dog again?� I pried. �Oh, and did we tell you that they will fit in a frisky ball?� My stepmother added. What is WITH the frisky ball???? So�.their minds were made up. I was expecting to go over there and find a chinchilla at the next visit. When my stepmother�s birthday approached, she asked for chinchilla supplies. ????? When Christmas came almost four months later, AGAIN with the requests for chinchilla supplies. Exactly how many supplies does a small rodent need? Apparently they require the regular cage with toys, special food, water bottle, exercise equipment, books on the care of chinchillas, bedding, bowls and DUST. What kind of animal comes with it�s own DUST? Chinchillas, I guess. And they also needed a new frisky ball. One that was chinchilla sized � NOT gerbil sized. So���when was this chinchilla going to arrive?? Well, I�ll tell you � it is now 2003 and my stepmother�s birthday is approaching now two years after the first mention of the chinchilla. They apparently still have yet to finish collecting their supplies. I�m not sure they actually want the animal at all, but I think they�re secretly eating chinchilla food and having dust-baths at 2 o�clock in the morning.
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I am the Grim Reaper! Master of all that is |
