Pets are so important to people, whether itโs a cuddly kitten, an adventurous dog or a nose twitching bunny. Dogs will wait impatiently on the other side of the door for their owner as soon as they hear the key in the door, their tails wagging furiously with delight.
Cats will meander over and wind themselves around an ownerโs leg, waiting for a scratch behind the ear. Itโs tough on some kids when they head off to college and must leave behind their pets, but many universities do not allow animals, other than service animals, in residence halls.
Stephanie Veerman, 19, was understandably upset at leaving behind her beloved hamster Chester when she headed off to college. She entrusted Chesterโs care to her dad Daniel, an attorney, who became an empty-nester when Stephanie flew the coop.
Daniel was initially leery of the โrodent,โ but eventually grew to enjoy the little critter.
The Massachusetts bachelor even bought a batch of tiny toys and tasty treats for Chester, he told TODAY Parents.
โIโve always had German Shepherds and at first I thought he was just some rodent.โ
Even though the pair began to bond, Daniel had a huge scare.
โI donโt have a lot to take care of, and I almost screwed up the one thing I have.โ
While Daniel was cleaning out Chesterโs cage one weekend, the critter busted free and embarked upon a wild adventure around the house.
โI put Chester in this ball he likes to roll around in, and when I came back, he was gone. Heโd somehow opened the top of the ball.โ
Daniel snapped into action, crawling around the house on his hands and knees with a flashlight trying to find his buddy, freaking out because he knew his daughter would be crushed if something bad happened to Chester.
He realized he had to tell her what happened, but at the same time reassure her that he would not give up searching for her hamster.
โHow am I going to explain this to Stephanie?โ
Stephanie received a panicked text from her dad describing the situation. He referred to Chesterโs big escape as an โemergencyโ and his โbiggest screw up ever.โ
โIf I canโt find him today, Iโm not going to work tomorrow so I can keep looking.โ
Stephanie reassured her dad that it would all be okay and he didnโt have to do that.
โDad โ heโs a hamster. I donโt blame you at ALL. You shouldnโt skip work. You are a lawyer and he is a hamster.โ
Daniel took extreme measures to find Chester.
โI googled โHow to find a hamsterโ and some dude said to put flour down to see if heโs been in the area. I also set food traps and rubbed peanut butter, his favorite food, all over my office.โ
It took 12 exceptionally long hours of searching, freaking out, texting Stephanie and taking deep breaths before Daniel found him. He was hiding behind a book about Richard Nixon of all places.
Stephanie shared on Twitter the series of tweets her dad sent her and described him how โtruly pure my father is.โ She also shared a photo of the adorable Chester whom she described as โthe light of my life and not โjust a hamster.'โ
Even funnier is that not long after Daniel found Chester, the escape artist tried to flee yet again!
Stephanieโs tweets received hundreds of thousands of likes and shares. Not only is Chester a viral superstar, but now so is the dedicated Daniel.
He said he doesnโt mind being known as the hamster dad. He was just thrilled that Chester was found safe and sound.
Stephanie also recently launched a line of merchandise with some of the clever texts she and her dad exchanged during the frantic hunt for Chester. People are snatching it all up, loving the story behind the apparel.
What an awesome story with a happy ending!
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