MLAARe -A Tuff of Fur

Its always interesting to go on vacation and get away from work for a few days.
Because I never know what I'm going to come back to.
I say in all joking that "I hope the place doesn't burn down while I'm gone." but I do wonder if things will get super crazy while I'm gone.

I also worry.
That the animals won't get as great of care when I'm gone.
Like they won't get their food, won't get checked on, won't get their medicines....

And that was halfway confirmed today at work.

As I was doing the morning feeding of the hamster.
I opened one cage.
And noticed a small tuff of fur on the bedding.

That's never a good sign.
Tuffs of fur usually mean wounds, usually means fighting and sometimes means death.

And judging by the many empty food bowls I'd already refilled.
I knew it wasn't going to be good when I lifted up that house.

It wasn't.

A hamster had perished
Cannibalized by the others.

But the sad thing, is that there was hardly anything left.
It was basically just the bottom of the hamster. The legs and the tail area from what I could tell from my brief glance at it.
By all means I wasn't inclined to look closer and gross myself out further.

Not fun.
And an indication that the hamsters hadn't been looked at, or their cage even opened most likely for at least a day, maybe a day and a half.
Because if it had been checked more often,
Then it could have been prevented (unless the incident happened over night.)
Because wounds would have been noticed and the hamster taken away.
If it had happened over night....(which it wouldn't have been last night.)
There would...well have been more of the hamster left.

There was hardly anything at all.
By the end of the day there would have been no trace the hamster was there if I hadn't noticed that tuff of fur.

It wasn't a pretty task...
Quite a welcome back to work.
Ah well.
Let the crazy begin.

-Sarnic Dirchi