I feel so bad

[chrissy]

My daughter wanted a hampster. And she proved herself by taking care of her things and responsiblities so we got her one last weekend. It's cute... but it's a monster!

We have tried working with it. Tried holding it. Petting it and everything. But it's a wild monster!

I used to raise rats for our snake and never had anything like this little bugger! It bit Audie's friend, snapped at her, bit and drew blood from me and bit Donnie through a pair of gloves.

So, we are taking her back. Audie is crying. I am telling her she is a good girl and did all she could to help and take care of "Sweetie".

And on top of all of this, Audie has allergies. We thought they were seasonal, but now think they might be more. We have 2 dogs and a cat that we all love that might have to leave our home now. Donnie loves animals (and animals love him) and is upset because we might have to place them in other homes.

*sigh* I don't like this at all. Now, I am the mean person in the house getting rid of all the animals. This sucks.

[welfareloser]

awwww, that sucks. nothin like makin your kid cry. but you're doing the right thing. and there are two types of hamsters, maybe if you had a teddy hamster, try the other kind? (i forget what they're called, but i think they gots shorter hair.)

but it sounds like you just brought home a very brain-damaged hamster.

maybe try a lizard or some fish? i always liked lizards.

and if you have a big enough yard and a couple hundred bucks, you could build a pretty cushy doghouse, heated and everything, and just make the dogs stay outside. the cat might be tougher...

:(

[Twilight]

Allergies from pets or otherwise can definately be managed by medication. Keep the animals out of the bedrooms and this can significantly help as well. I read a lot of newsgroups related to cats, and people have found relief through frequent vacuuming of carpet and upholstry, brushing and bathing their pets on a regular basis, and by using an air filtration unit in the house. There is no reason you need to get rid of your pets before you talk to you doctor and try these methods as well.

[El Scorcho]

that does suck. For the hampster thing, id suggest a guinea pig (sp?). I dont know if it solves the alergies thing, but theyre much cooler. Theyre not as mean as hampsters so thats better, and theyre a lot like hampsters so maybe itd kinda be just like getting another hampster.

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by Twilight
Allergies from pets or otherwise can definately be managed by medication. Keep the animals out of the bedrooms and this can significantly help as well.

yeah, but medicating your kids just isn't cool, and most parents want to avoid it at any reasonable cost - esp if the allegies involve asthma, which is becoming more and more common - your five-year-old hopped up on steroids and crouched in a corner screaming at hallucinations is NOT fun. and though conventional medical advice has held for many years that keeping bedrooms allergen-free would help, it has recently been shown that that's a bunch of crap - if it's in the house, it's in the whole house, cuz air circulates, and kids spend a significant amount of time in common areas anyway.


people have found relief through frequent vacuuming of carpet and upholstry, brushing and bathing their pets on a regular basis, and by using an air filtration unit in the house.

those are both good suggestions, tho.

and as for guinea pigs - those suckers give me more allergy problems than any other animal on the planet...

[El Scorcho]

Originally posted by welfareloser


and as for guinea pigs - those suckers give me more allergy problems than any other animal on the planet...

yeah but arent they funny? hehehehe when you try to poke em they run around and start freakin out :poke: :heh:

[Twilight]

Originally posted by welfareloser

yeah, but medicating your kids just isn't cool, and most parents want to avoid it at any reasonable cost - esp if the allegies involve asthma, which is becoming more and more common - your five-year-old hopped up on steroids and crouched in a corner screaming at hallucinations is NOT fun.
Um, I was a kid with allergies and asthma, and I never had any medication that made me hallucinate. All allergy medicine is not bad, and if it meant talking to the family doctor about the allergies and starting medication vs. getting rid of the pets, I'm 100% sure what I'd do.

[Twilight]

Originally posted by El Scorcho

yeah but arent they funny? hehehehe when you try to poke em they run around and start freakin out :poke: :heh:
Yeah, that's what I wanna teach my kid... poke it til it squirms.

[chrissy]

We have been talking with her doctors and they won't test her for specifics for some reason (military doctors suck -- long story but I have a lot to back that up). So, they are saying to get rid of all fur animals in the house, make sure she lives in a dust free bubble :rolleyes: . We do have her on Zyrtec, but even after being on that since April, it's not doing anything for her. She still coughs and wheezes. The last doctor she saw was great. He wanted her to try it for a while, then if it didn't work out to come back and they would start looking at asthma and testing. This other one, just wanted to leave the clinic because it was a weekend, I feel.

We have thought about the dog house bit. And will prob do that for one dog, but two? They would play and bark all night and then we would be kicked out of housing for disturbing the peace. Our cat is a wonderful cat, and Donnie's baby. We were thinking about taking it up to his mom's house... That's where our Dalmation is.

As for the hampster, we are walking out the door to return it. We don't know if we will come back with another, or fish...
:)

It's tough being a mom...
lol

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by Twilight

Um, I was a kid with allergies and asthma, and I never had any medication that made me hallucinate. All allergy medicine is not bad, and if it meant talking to the family doctor about the allergies and starting medication vs. getting rid of the pets, I'm 100% sure what I'd do.

yeah, me too. i never knew anyone with problems like that when i was a kid, but of the 10 or so kids i know on asthma treatments now, about 5 have had some problems ranging from inability to sleep to the screamfests. but asthma seems to be getting worse and worse, and needs to be treated more agressively than before, and medications have changed, and doctors are so drug-happy these days that they rarely care about the emotional toll of many drugs, etc... just throwin in my 2 lire worth. gotta be careful.

[El Scorcho]

Originally posted by chrissy
So, they are saying to get rid of all fur animals in the house, make sure she lives in a dust free bubble :rolleyes:

maybe not a rational excuse but a long shot...

instead of getting rid of the animal... get rid of the fur. Shave your dogs... well maybe just try it its worth a chance. Since its the fur that causes it, maybe she wont get asthma if there is not fur to give her asthma.

mmmm...i dunno if you wanna take that into consideration or not but just tryin to help ;)

[Twilight]

Any doctor who tells you to get rid of your pets should be hit in the head with a brick. As for fish, they can cause just as many problems with allergies believe it or not. The water gives potential for mold and mildew related problems - not so much them growing in the tank, but they add humidity to the house. Also, if you don't know how to "cycle" a tank and take care of fish PLEASE ASK ME before you kill the first tank.

[welfareloser]

doh, military docs, i forgot, say no more!!!!! stay away from them.

i still remember the army dentist who, in order to solve my little sis's crowded mouth, was going to pull her lateral incisors and scoot her CANINES forward.

1. can anyone say VAMPIRE?!?!?!
2. the canines have the longest, fattest roots in the entire mouth, and are called the cornerstones of the mouth for a GOOD REASON. you don't just go scooting those suckers around for no good reason.

then there was the military doc that wanted to do some very screwed up ghetto-surgery on my sis's hand for a simple jammed finger (which healed just fine on its own in a week)

eesh.

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by El Scorcho


maybe not a rational excuse but a long shot...

instead of getting rid of the animal... get rid of the fur. Shave your dogs... well maybe just try it its worth a chance. Since its the fur that causes it, maybe she wont get asthma if there is not fur to give her asthma.

mmmm...i dunno if you wanna take that into consideration or not but just tryin to help ;)

not fur. skin exudates that stick to dander and fur. shaving won't help.

[Jenny]

LOL To clarify what welfare said...It really isn't the hair that people (or most people) are allergic to. It is the dander on the skin under the hair. Dander is like dead flakes or skin and oils, etc. :)

[El Scorcho]

Originally posted by welfareloser


not fur. skin exudates that stick to dander and fur. shaving won't help.

o ok :shrug:

[Twilight]

Actually, I am allergic to both my cats, but I've found that if I wash my hands regularly, and don't touch my face or rub my eyes after petting the cats, that I have very minimal allergy problems. Perhaps you can start teaching your daughter to wash her hands after playing with the animals.

[El Scorcho]

Originally posted by Twilight
Actually, I am allergic to both my cats, but I've found that if I wash my hands regularly, and don't touch my face or rub my eyes after petting the cats, that I have very minimal allergy problems. Perhaps you can start teaching your daughter to wash her hands after playing with the animals.

im alergic to cats too, and the same applies for me

[Nanotech9]

<-=========== You can loan her my gerbil... Vary tame, and you can even get them w/o guns...

[g222leav]

i was just about to say that...get gerbils...you can feed them cardboard

[chrissy]

Well, we are back. Traded in the Hampster from hell for a pair (yes two) dwarf hampsters. (My son decided he wanted one too.) So, we sat at the store for 15 minutes handling both. Audie has named her Crystal and Mikey's is Spunky (now that he is home, he is very spunky-- we think this will calm down :) ) They have them rolling around in balls.
I took pictres and will post later :D

As for the allergies, thanks for the suggestions. I have been using some already, others I will try (not the shaving the animal one though, sorry) I hope it is seasonal, and since we have been here only through the hot season (since March), that it will lessen a little once we start cooling down.

Donnie's mom works for a doctor in Fallon, NV. He is really good. I was thinking that next time we get up there, to get an appointment with him.

[El Scorcho]

Originally posted by chrissy
Audie has named her Crystal and Mikey's is Spunky (now that he is home, he is very spunky-- we think this will calm down :) )

What... not el bandito.... or el scorcho for that matter? :bandit: hehe jk

[johnnymk]

It's practically impossible to get rid of an animal after you have become emotionally attached to it, so that should be the last resort. I have been taking allergy shots for over 4 years and they have helped me dramtically. You can get tested with various allergens to see what you are allergic to. Then a custom vial of serum will be made for injections, which start at once a week, possibly twice a week, and then after a period of months or years, the injections can be reduced to every three or four weeks.
Usually people who have allergies have more than one thing they are allergic to. I am allergic to every thing that grows, and most things that merely move.
After the serum is made up, you may be able to find a nurse who can give her the injections.
I have had no luck with over the counter or prescription allergy medicines. They either make me drowsy or hyper, can affect my sleep habits and can definitely affect my emotions. Plus they usually make my mouth or lips break out.
I highly recommend allergy shots. I even have a cat sleep on the same bed with me now.

[oblongmelon]

I just recently gave away two guinea pigs-both males, named CHIPPY and JUNE to a nice little girl. Short hair guineas are great pets(chippy was a short hair,Junie -long) but damn those long haired ones, cute as hell but get matted and dirty and ya gotta trim their hair at least once a month. I'm surprised that you are allergic to them. They love baths and as long as you keep their cages clean they usually don't promote alot of health problems

[chrissy]

Originally posted by El Scorcho


What... not el bandito.... or el scorcho for that matter? :bandit: hehe jk

You know, I thought about it, but hehe, it was the first thing I could think of! He wanted to name it Scooby! EVERYTHING he owns is named SCOOBY!

So, I had to think of something cute, fitting, and he could pronounce. Spunky was it.

[El Scorcho]

Originally posted by johnnymk
It's practically impossible to get rid of an animal after you have become emotionally attached to it, so that should be the last resort. I have been taking allergy shots for over 4 years and they have helped me dramtically. You can get tested with various allergens to see what you are allergic to. Then a custom vial of serum will be made for injections, which start at once a week, possibly twice a week, and then after a period of months or years, the injections can be reduced to every three or four weeks.
Usually people who have allergies have more than one thing they are allergic to. I am allergic to every thing that grows, and most things that merely move.
After the serum is made up, you may be able to find a nurse who can give her the injections.
I have had no luck with over the counter or prescription allergy medicines. They either make me drowsy or hyper, can affect my sleep habits and can definitely affect my emotions. Plus they usually make my mouth or lips break out.
I highly recommend allergy shots. I even have a cat sleep on the same bed with me now.

frankly, your post represents the exception to emotional attachment to pets