Having a pet hamster comes with a set of occupational hazards - as one mum from Scotland soon found out!
The fluffy friends may be adorable, but their accident-prone nature and short lifespans often see them meeting a grisly fate.
After a woman suspected her fur baby had been scoffed by her spaniel, she was gobsmacked to see him defying all the odds and making a comeback almost a year and a half later.
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Lanarkshire-based Elspeth Gold had given up hope when her pet hamster Pablo disappeared in July 2020.
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The 43-year-old mum had been coming to terms with the idea that her springer spaniel (nine-year-old Lucy) had probably eaten him during the course of his departure.
Pablo's cage was cleared out and stored away. The family disposed of his belongings under the belief that he was unlikely to come home.
They carried on as normal until earlier this month (1st November), when a certain furry friend decided to make a dramatic return.
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Panicking, Elspeth reached out for help on Facebook.
"SOS, SOS, SOS [sic]", she said. "So after being missing for a year and a half, Pablo the hamster has turned up. Has anyone got a spare cage I could have, please?"
The mum originally bought Pablo as a gift for her daughter's 12th birthday. He'd been a family staple for "nearly a year", before his hiatus from the household.
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"Fast forward to Monday 1st November, 17 months later, my daughter was in the kitchen about 10 o'clock at night and Pablo rocked up as if nothing had happened, looking a bit rough", she said.
Elspeth's family were thankfully able to re-house him in a new cage.
Sadly, Pablo became unwell after just a few days back at the family home. A week and a half after his great return, he died.
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"We couldn't believe it", she said. "I have never known a hamster to be missing for that long and be found alive".
Petition for Pablo's adventure to be made into a film!
Featured Image Credit: Unsplash/DeadlineTopics: Animals, Life, Real Life