Our Georgie Porgie was iestyn's first pet. He was a truly remarkable creature.

Iestyn has always wanted a dog since he was tiny but we thought we'd start smaller and so at Easter 1994 we got a hamster. Iestyn chose plain brown and named him Georgie Porgy. He died in the summer of 1996 having suffered in the last 2 months with a large cancerous tumour. The vet assured us he was not in pain. Iestyn was heartbroken - still is - and wrote this poem for him. Many years on, it still makes us cry.

Shiny little black eyes

A little woffley nose

Soft furry brown coat

Tiny claws on his toes

Loved him filling his pouches,

Loved him washing his ears.

Super ball driver,

Call him and he appears.

He loved my boiled eggs,

His sleepy nose in his nest,

He’d nibbled off his tail!

I thought he was the best!!

It’s sad now he’s not here,

There is no-one to give my egg to.

There’s no nose to say Good Morning!

I miss him I really do ....

Our Georgie did not settle into his home well at first. He bit a lot and did not seem to like the feel of the bars on his feet. We had a 3 tiered cage - lots of room - and he hated being exposed on the top layer. We woke up one morning to find him covered in blood! He had started to self mutilate and was chewing at his own tail. The vet inspected him and his home and assured us we were doing all we could - some rodents just act like this she said. He had antibiotics and a solution to bathe the tail in and a collar for his neck.

He removed the collar within minutes of it going on and he continued to mutilate. We were told there was little hope for him. We could not accept this and we tried to show him how much he was loved by spending hours every day with him in a large cardboard box, holding, stroking, ignoring his biting, feeding treats and speaking softly.

He stopped!!!

He recovered fully - apart from the fact he was the only hamster we knew without ANY tail!! He went on to be one of the most loving creatures I have encountered.

Visitors marvelled at this hamster who would come to his name and obey the "NO" command - if he was heading out the door you had only to say "Uh Uh, No Georgie" and he'd head off somewhere else.

He loved to sit on your lap, to roam in his ball or to sit in your pocket even and he especially liked to get up to your neck and lie down the side of your cheek! He never bit again when he got well   and we bought him a wonderful Rotastak system of tubes and compartments since he hated the bars so much. Never could get him to stop chewing the bars though - not even the small ones at the top of his new home!

We had birthday cakes for him and he went everywhere with us - even had a travelling box for day trips!

We were all heartbroken when he got sick - he was almost 2 and a half so we knew he had had a good innings but he was such company - I would never have believed anyone who said hamsters were company! but this one was.

He died while we were on holiday in our favourite farm cottage in Wales and we buried him there on the Welsh mountains. We go and see him when we go back.

We love you Georgie!