Flash

FLASH:  ?? January 2006 - 15 March 2008

Died under tragic circumstances.

One of the cats popped a Habitrail room loose from the tunnel

in the middle of the night.

We finally found him after a day of searching high and low,

 neatly killed and buried in the dirty laundry in the bedroom.

He lived with us for a year and a half

eating broccoli and carrots, blueberries and apple

along with his regular food.

He never feared the cats.

We can only hope he had a happy life

and a quick death.

We miss you, little dude.

The woman who was offering him wanted to make sure that he went to a loving home, and ours qualified!  So we brought him home, Habitrail Safari cage and basic food and all.  His name at the time was Sweet Pea, but somehow we couldn't see that it fit him, so we considered a number of possible names for him... while we spent more than we could afford on buying him tunnels and such that we could attach to his cage.  Pretty much as soon as he had tunnels to live in, he mostly abandoned the main cage, except for his wheel, his food dish, and his water bottle.  We had to experiment a little to come up with a design that he really likes, but we finally did!

We tried a few times to take pictures of him, but every time, he was moving too quickly and the pictures came out blurred.  We finally named him "the Flash" for the super-speedy comic book superhero.  Thanks to Sean's heroic efforts, we do have a couple of clear pictures of him now... but not many yet!

Loki and Angel check Flash out now and again, especially when we have him out of the cage, but Trick is Flash's most devoted fan.  The aquarium no long holds the same fascination that it once did; Trick will position himself anywhere around or on the cage so he can see Flash, and watch him intently for ages, intermittently pawing at the plastic tunnels when Flash comes close to him.  Flash doesn't appear to be at all disturbed, and will in fact run right at or even underneath Trick--within his sturdy tunnels, of course.

Trick did manage to get Flash out of the cage once, in the middle of the night--somehow, probably under Trick's enthusiasm, an improperly-supported room in the tunnel complex popped off.  Flash found his way off the trunk his cage rests on, down to the floor, and into the lower of two stacked milk crates that hold his bedding, food, treats, and so on.  He was safe and sound in there, much to Trick's disgust, until Sean discovered the great escape when he got up in the night for a drink.  We retrieved Flash and he went home, much relieved to be able to dive into his tunnels, and we now make sure that the whole structure is well supported.

Flash is, of course, spoiled hopelessly, although in moderation so he doesn't get sick.  He adores broccoli, baby carrots, peanuts in the shell, celery leaves, banana chips, and the occasional kibble of dry cat food, among other treats.

Check out the few pictures we do have of him in his album in the Photo Gallery!