I hate technology.

I'm so sorry the website is down... but the darn thing is hamster-powered and they are all taking a nap!

Seriously, I have no idea what is happening. Both the www.nyhh.org site and the www.thejessicawells.com sites have been completely deleted, and my hosting company (godaddy) is claiming complete innocence. I've been on the phone for an hour now arguing with them, but apparently it's all totally deleted and can't be restored. I'll do my best to have some semblance of a website up and runnning as soon as possible. In the meantime, stay in touch here through the blog.

ARGH,
Jess

Warning: EXTREME CUTENESS AHEAD

So, I got five new hamsters today. And, they are so cute that I need to go to the hospital and get an IV of anti-cute to save me.

The hamsters came from a Department of Transportation office in Queens. Right now, all five hamsters live together, though I don't understand why they are getting along. Technically each one should be living separately. But I figured I don't want to further upset them on their first day here, so I will deal with separating them later this week. I named the mama Dot (Dotty), after the Dept. of Transportation. The three daughters are named after things under the auspices of the DOT: Brook (Brook Lyn Bridge), Dam (Amsterdam Avenue), and Holly (Holland Tunnel). And their aunt is Mulberry (Street).

Now, do you think you can handle the cute?

...


...


...


...


...



Brook


Dotty


Amsterdam


Mulberry


Mulberry and Holly


Brook, Holly, Amsterdam the Hamsterdam, and Dotty

Hamsters Heart Laren

Wow! Crazy town! Not only is there someone else in Manhattan who was so taken by a mouse on the street that she brought the little munchkin home... but that someone else just mentioned the New York Hamster House in her column for the New York Observer.



Laren, the author, rescued a mouse in Manhattan, just like I did three years ago. I was walking down Houston and saw a small injured mouse scampering around on the sidewalk. I walked into the Film Forum, asked for a tub of popcorn minus the popcorn, and brought the little mouse ("Houston the Mouston") home. She survived one or two days on milk and bread, and then died (which was sad, but at least the rest of her short life was warm, cuddly, and safe.

In Laren's case, she was walking on West 10th and saw the cutester and just had to bring him home. There, she pondered her options. As she writes:

Plan A: Hamster House in Inwood, run by a young, saintly woman who rescues those oft-tossed little rodents. I could make two donations: one financial, one fuzzy. But when I saw Carmen—tiny white ring around her pink nose—carefully ejecting a piece of poop from her log house, I had second thoughts. Would Hamster House appreciate her excellent hygiene? Would they feed her fresh corn, and almonds and the occasional raspberry?


Elsewhere in the article, Laren writes "Maybe the true measure of a person’s humanity lies in the way they treat small creatures." Three cheers for Laren!

In and Out

We've had a lot of turnover at the NYHH lately... and I've been AWFUL about updating the website and the Petfinder account. But I promise I will update it all within the next day or two.

Rosemary is back--wasn't a good fit with her and the family who had adopted her.

Jackson, the hamster who had been waiting for adoption for over a year, finally has a home. Hopefully, a forever home!

Lovey found a home with a family who can care for her and all her special, adorable needs.

Vanilla and Chocolate were adopted by a family who really knows their way around rodents--and who will, I am sure, treat them very well.

And we have a new resident, too... Moki. SO cute. Her mom was incredibly sad to have to let her go, so I promised to keep her around for a while, just to make her feel incredibly at home and comfy and loved. Which will not be hard. She is a CUTIE.

See?




I played with her for a while today, and let her explore the playground. I think she's gonna like it here!

Can't Stop... Must Post More Photos!!!

Beth, Dave and Lovey


Clover McFancypants


Ashley and Gingerbread


NYHH Trustees Jess and Jody

Wilhelm Day Recap

Wow, I kind of dropped the ball in terms of taking pics of Wilhelm Day. So, Jody and Ashley, will you send me some of the pictures you took?

In the meantime, I think that Wilhelm Day was a total success! I mean, let's look at the stats:

Hamsters Adopted Out: Three

Donations Received: Tons of food, snacks, and bedding (thanks, Geoffrey, Virpi and Ellen!)

Cold Hard Cash Received: $225 (checks, but still!!)

Number of New Friends for the NYHH: at least 10

Value of Wilhelm Day: PRICELESS

I mean, I think the day was GREAT. I adopted out three hamsters (Cera and Foxy Brown, and Thor), and got a bunch more people interested in adopting in the future, and met up with some very generous supporters of the NYHH. Jody and Leni both made amazingly generous gifts (Jody's to fund the Frederick A. P. Barnard Memorial Fund), and people brought food, and we ate and chatted and man did we play with the cuties. Virpi was so good with the gerbils; Geoffrey brought three of his dwarves, including the uber-adorable Beep (cousin of Baby Daddy); Ellen knew all about syrians; Ashley brought Clover McFancyPants, the cutest guinea pig of all time; Jody regailed us with stories of Freddie, Frankie, and Peanut; Beth weighed in on mice; Layla charmed Thor; and Leni just knew SO much about the hammies.

Phew. What a GREAT day.

(here are some pics, but more to come!)


One of Geoffrey's.. Big Mama?

Beep beep, beep beep, YEAH!

Cera & Foxy Mama play fighting

An Invitation to WILHELM DAY

You, dear blog reader, are cordially invited to the very first Wilhelm Day, to be held at the New York Hamster House, this coming Sunday August 13th from noon to 4pm.

All of the NYHH finest--that is, all our hamsters and gerbils--will be on display, happily sleeping and rolling around, eating, chewing, and playing.

Come if you want to adopt a hamster or gerbil. Come if you'd like to say hello, or make a donation, or bring a gift, or just play with the NYHH residents.

Hamster-friends are most welcomed, as are guinea pigs, gerbils, and mice :)

If you need directions, please email me and let me know where you are coming from and whether you need car or subway directions. I'll have crayons and paper on hand for kids who would like to make cards or pictures for the hamsters.

We can't wait to see you guys on our first Wilhelm Day.

RIP Blueberry

Blueberry died today.

I'm not sure why--just yesterday she bit me super hard and was running on her wheel like a maniac. She was between one and two years old, but seemed in good health. It wasn't from the heat, since the AC has been on for the hamsters through this heat wave. I didn't hear her make any noise today, so she must have gone easily.

As any of you who have met Blueberry will understand, I'm conflicted. I mean, it's hard not to be sad when a cute, fluffy animal dies. I am sad. But... I'm a tiny bit happy that my days of deep, bleeding bites are over.

However, part of what the NYHH is all about is taking care of unwanted animals--and boy oh boy was Blueberry unwanted :) So in a way, she was a great illustration of what I am trying to accomplish here: taking in animals who need homes, regardless of whether or not they are healthy and happy enough to be placed into a new home.

Blueberry, you bit me more times than all the other 65 hamsters I've had put together. Your record for biting, aggression and cage-gnawing will never be surpassed. I hope that in hamster heaven, you calm down and are filled with love.