Freedom…what a wonderful boy you were. You had a huge amount of life in your little body. You inspired me…I wish I had that amount of joy and spirit. It’s hard to find the words to say what I really want to say.



I am so glad I made that decision to adopt you more than a year ago. Your previous caregiver didn’t have enough time for you, so I offered to take you off her hands. I never knew a creature so small would change me forever.



I’ll always remember that dazed look you had when you woke up in the evening, or how bedding got caught in your beautiful long fur just seconds after I’d finished combing it! Just a few days after I’d adopted you, you escaped out of your cage in the middle of the night by pushing the door open. I found you the next day on the ground, staring up with that innocent face, and a huge pile of seeds in the corner. Hence the name ‘Freedom’!



A few days ago, on Christmas Eve, I came into the room where I kept your cage. I immediately noticed something was wrong. There was no rise and fall of your steady breathing as you slept. I opened the cage door and gently touched your body. When you did not move, I knew you were gone. In shock, only after a few minutes did I start crying, and cry I did. I thought I would cry forever.



You made me laugh every day. Your whiskers tickled my nose in your endless curiosity. Your love was never ending. I thank God so, so much that you left to the Rainbow Bridge in your sleep without any pain. Thank you God, for letting Freedom leave me because of old age, and no suffering and pain in the days preceding. It is my belief that you left me because your heart, that wonderful kind little heart, had simply stopped beating after two years of beating so hard.



Now you are finally free. You have no walls to surround you. You can eat as many sunflower seeds as you want. You can run to your heart’s content. You are free…free…free forever. Goodbye, Freedom. I love you, ham.



Love,

Your human caregiver and best friend, Nat