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Oreo had been bought after Chester(another hamster) had died. He was my first hamster but his death was not nearly as depressing as Oreo's was. He was a cute little Panda-Bear hamster who could easily adapt. Once I put him in his new home, he sniffed around a bit, ate, then climbed upstairs and fell right asleep. I fell in love with him immediately since, even though it was the first day at a new home, he let me pet him. He was so extremely soft. Anyway, close to a year later, I was stupid and I greatly regret doing this. I forgot to wash his cage for so long. It felt like it was only a little while since I cleaned it so I just dismissed it. He was hand-trained so I would take him out almost everyday. One day, I noticed...he was weezing and when he took in a breath, his mouth would open wide and his body would lurch forward. I was worried, but, as many people do, I hoped he would recover so I left it for a bit. If I hadn't done that he would have been ok! Well, obviously, he didn't get better so I told my mother. She was furious, and rightly so. The next day, we took him to the vets' and he checked him out and said that he had a lot of liquid in his lungs....Either that or he had a tumor. He said to clean his cage VERY well. He gave little Oreo two shots to try to help his breathing. The vet said that, if it worked, to come back a few days later to get the medicine so he could stay well. When we went home I started to cry. My mom's statement that we might have to put him to sleep didn't help any. My mom later told me that we would go back there soon. I remember that we were supposed to go there on a Thursday. That day: I finished my lunch and went downstairs to watch over Oreo until it was time to get ready to go to the vets'. I saw him sleeping downstairs. Even though he was sleeping, it was extremely obvious that he was having trouble breathing. I watched over him for some minutes when he opened his eyes to give himself a wash. Every time he brought up his paws to try to clean the top of his head and his ears, he wheezed terribly and it was so bad that it kept him from doing such. He started to freak out. He ran all over his cage and kept stopping to try and breathe and I saw that he wasn't wheezing!...he couldn't breathe. He kept running and I kept sobbing out, "Just go to sleep Oreo! Go to sleep and you won't hurt anymore!" I meant for him to fall asleep since the need to breathe isn't as great when you're sleeping. He lay down and I kept repeating those words to him, including a few other comforting words. His breathing became short and he barely breathed at all. He took a breath every few seconds... I still kept, though slower, softer, and not as much, saying, "That's right Oreo. Just go to sleep." And he obeyed. He fell asleep....and died.

I don't care if anyone reads this. I just wanted to remember it always. Even though it hurts like hell, I never want to forget him or what happened...