Sachi was a chipmunk of international adventures, having been born in China, raised in Japan until she was 3, and then lived in Portland, Oregon for the rest of her life.



I first met her at a pet store in Tokyo. According to the papers I got when I bought her, she had been sent from China to Osaka and then to Tokyo. She was just two months old when I took her home with me then. She moved apartments once with me in Japan, then in mid-2017, she made the big move to the US. She lived with me at my mother's house for the rest of that year, and finally, she moved into an apartment with my boyfriend (now husband) and me. She had a nice big cage to herself, but we let her out to roam around as often as possible.



Her favorite snack was sunflower seeds, and she would have eaten nothing but that if I had let her. She also liked nuts and fruits but was pretty picky about veggies.



Starting from just after she turned one, she would go into a "chirp fest" every spring. This was her mating call, of course, and it was cute for a few minutes, but got a bit old when she did it for hours on end. An audio sample can be found below.



In the winter, she typically spent more time sleeping and got very protective of her food and space. I can confirm that those razor-sharp teeth went right through skin when she decided to bite! However, once spring rolled around, it was back to being affectionate and chirping away for a week or so.



She liked running around exploring everywhere she could get to. She would climb any surface she could cling to, bury herself in the bed covers, and search the ground for anything edible. During her last couple of years, she decided she liked hanging out on the ottoman by the window.



I have so many stories and memories of her and pictures and videos to back that up. I am extremely grateful that she was my furry companion for nearly 9 years and will miss her tremendously.