Gigi's Story

A female winter white hamster was isolated in the back room of the Manchester PetSmart on October 8, 2006, with sores that store supervisors speculated may have been caused by fight wounds, mites, or even herpes. This hamster, whom PETA's investigator named Gigi, screamed in fear when she was approached and suffered from open sores that covered her tiny body, including the bottoms of her paws and the inside of her mouth.

Before

PETA's investigator pleaded with her supervisors to provide Gigi with veterinary care and, on October 20, even attempted to take the helpless hamster to the vet herself. To her dismay, the store's so-called "pet care manager" insisted that Gigi did not need to be evaluated by a veterinarian and returned her to the store's back room before she could be examined.

Gigi's story has a happy ending, but first she languished in PetSmart's back room for more than 10 weeks. During that time, multiple supervisors—including the pet care manager-made the following notations on Gigi's chart:

very cranky & vocal, open sore on one leg … not happy, mouth sores? … Paws very red, scared, regressed … Paws still swollen … She's mean to me … Needs vet … Red paws, mouth sores … Vet? Tomorrow? … Doesn't like me/paws red … Hates me … Grouchy … Moved out of tiny cage, squeals a lot … Puts up a good fight … Still has mouth sores … Mouth sores not healing … Vocal, shaky: needs vet, regressing … Paws red/mouth sores not healing … Mouth sores worse, more along roof of mouth … Mouth sores look bad *needs vet* … Very skittish … Still grouchy … Mean … Still not very happy … Mouth very red-mouth & gum sores … Regression … Sores on all paws/fur looks a little ratty … Still has 2 very large sores where jaw hinges … Mean little bugger/vet? … Needs to be checked out by vet … Evil … Nasty/evil/paws a little red … Still evil … Shaking/paws red

After

After months of watching Gigi suffer without relief, PETA's investigator was at last permitted to adopt the sick hamster. She drove her straight from PetSmart to a veterinarian, who was puzzled by Gigi's condition and referred her to a specialist at Tufts New England Veterinary Medical Center.

The medical team at Tufts believed that Gigi's lesions were painful and that her screams were in anticipation of pain as people reached toward her. On her record, they noted that Gigi "had proliferative skin lesions on all four feet and legs, the left side of her nose and around her mouth." Biopsy results indicated that Gigi suffered from an uncommon, chronic bacterial infection that may require antibiotics for the rest of her life.

On Gigi's medical record, the kind Tufts veterinarian wrote: "Thank you for bringing Gigi to Tufts. She was a very sweet hamster and a pleasure to work with." Gigi wasn't "mean," "nasty," or "evil" at all—she was just in terrible pain.

Lucky little Gigi, whose condition has drastically improved with proper veterinary care, now has an enriched, loving home with PETA's investigator. Gigi enjoys discovering new foods (with a special affinity for granola, tofu, nuts, and apples with peanut butter) and exploring her human's house in an exercise ball. She is so intelligent that she can distinguish between different "rooms" of her multitiered, toy-filled cage—she has one house that she uses strictly for eating and another that she uses for napping and relaxing.

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