There is a rather charming picture of a youngster, proudly wearing his new bright yellow jumper (1) lurking in today's news media. He is being terribly discreet about his age but is around two to three years old. The jumper was knitted for him by the hospital staff of St. Tiggywinkles in Bucks. UK, where he has been a regular visitor for the past eighteen months. His name is Spudlina and he is a hedgehog who, absentmindedly, forgot to grow his spines.
The hospital has been giving him the spa treatment, oily massages and skin tests on a regular basis. He remains in a good humor and adamantly refuses to get prickly with anyone, even the person who gave him his unfortunate name. He would have preferred Politician, a much more obvious and grander choice, but there it is, he’s stuck with being named after a vegetable.
Rolling up into a ball is in no way affected by his condition (2) and he continues to believe that if you curl up in a corner and shut your eyes very, very tight, all bad things will pass you by. I do hope that by the choice of color for the jumper, the hospital staff where not intending any slur on his strength of character.
Oh the poor thing. I spent the whole two articles and the blog wondering how the heck any mammal could survive without a spine. I was thinking it was an evolutionary miracle. I am very relieved to realize he has his spine but not his spines. Woo. The picture of him all scabby is just heartbreaking, I am glad he found nice people to take care of him. I venture mites, I always blame mites for hair loss. My last hamster looked pretty similar before he croaked.