Steve McQueen 2015(?)-2018

Lovely little Steve from his younger days.

If you are curious, I don't think hedgehogs make the greatest pets, although they are VERY VERY cute. Sometimes they are the type that are charming and let you dress them up and rub their little ears and belly.

Steve McQueen was grumpy. He didn't like to be handled, but it was fun to hear his little grunts of protest when we picked him up.

Hedgehogs also need an exercise wheel. They will run on it all night, with no consideration for the rest of the house trying to sleep. Steve went through 2 exercise wheels before I found a good one that lasted.

They also poop and pee while running.

I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

I will admit that I did enjoy his occasional, middle of the night,  yodeling. It scared the heck out of me at first but when I learned it is actually a sign of contentment, I found it charming.

For the first 2 seconds.

Then I was more of "we know you're happy now shut the hell up!"

If I had known how common cancer was in hedgehogs, I may have thought twice before bringing him home.

But done bun can't be undone and I did.

Steve lived and Steve died last night in V's arms.

It was a good way to go.

His last few days were not pretty, he had developed a tumor that quickly got worse. I won't go into detail about that.

We did what we would do for anyone at the end.

We kept him warm, we held him. Made sure he was clean and dry. We fed him water and food through an eyedropper for as long as he would take it.

All yesterday he was barely conscious. It was cold so we cradled him with a hot water bottle.

We played with his ears and stroked the soft fur on his belly. But only a little bit.

It seemed disrespectful to take too much advantage.

We told him he was a good hog and we loved him.

Forgive me for anthropomorphizing, It was more to make us feel better than him.

Sometimes I think that it's not so much Death that is cruel, but Life, by refusing to give up just yet.

It was so in Steve McQueen's case anyways.

Von brought him to me when he woke up. He was back, he looked at us and raised his head. I told Von to give him a little water.

Von called me in alarm when he started tensing up.

We held him until he was still.

I had to tell Von earlier that he needed to stop hoping that he will pull through and to start waiting for the end.

There has to come that time when you give up. It's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just knowing that it is time and accepting it.

I was glad I did. When it happened, he was ready for it.

Last night I sewed Steve McQueen up into a funerary shroud of white muslin.

Later on, when the weather is a bit better we will send him off on a pyre, Conan the barbarian style.

The ground is too frozen for burial and anyways,  it seems rather fitting to send him off in such a way.

Meanwhile, Steve McQueen lies in his shroud, nestled safely in Horst's freezer.

I'm sure that Von will not let us forget to send him off properly before Horst's return.

It's wouldn't be good if we did, because wrapped up like that he looks just like a burrito...

Steve McQueen 2015-2018
Safe travels boy.