There was much drama in the Halland house this weekend. We had a runaway! I knew that Spike was a troubled hog but had no idea that it would go this far. I seriously do not know what I did wrong with Spike. I’ve tried to be a good hedgehog mother. He was a really cute little lump of a baby hog, very easy going and sleepy. I guess he just didn’t take his abduction from his mother land very well and I’m sure that the death of poor little Pokey upset him as well. No idea why he turned into such an unsocial grump but I guess the recent arrival of the babies, Spronkie and Spokey, just put him over the edge.
Saturday he was out lolling about under the marigolds in his hog corral and when Ella, Prossy and I went out for dinner and I sort of forgot him out there. I’ve forgotten him a few times before so I didn’t think it was such a big deal. He’s not much of a climber anymore, like he used to be. We came home and when I went out to search the marigolds it was discovered that the troubled hog had gone AWOL.
RUNAWAY HOG
Cell phone in hand (it has a little built in flashlight) the dogs, Prossy and I went out searching in the dark. Search activities ceased while I bathed Ella and put her to bed. She prayed that Spike would come home and that he “wouldn’t feel bad”.
I finally took one of the little hogs out to Solomon, who was on night guard duty, to give him a heads up on what the runaway would look like, only three times bigger. Solomon is on top of things and within 10 minutes him and the neighbor dog had found a very grumpy and huffy Spike ball! Surprisingly Bridger and Sanyu were pretty much no help at all (besides offering their companionship), although Bridger put on a very good sniffing show running his nose through the grass snorting really loud.
So, Ella’s prayers were answered and Spike was found and made it safely back to his home. Not sure if he was feeling bad or not.
And, because he enjoyed it so, here is a picture of Spike spitting on himself afterwards :)
His little escapade and short disappearance did make me realize just how much we really do enjoy Spike and how much we’d miss the little grump were he gone and not living in our kitchen. You don’t live with a guy for almost two years and not feel any attachment to him, even if he is a bit fat, grumpy and has terrible manners! We love our little fat Spikey boy ;)
Since it was obvious that Spikes running away was a cry for help, Sunday I decided that he just needed some “Mommy time”. This is a time that any ill behaving or annoying young creature in the household gets held by ol Mom for a few minutes until they can calm down. It is amazing how well Mommy Time works with Sanyu! Just a couple minutes with her on my lap rubbing her tummy and it’s like she’s a different dog (she can get super annoying at times). Works well with Ella too, only I don’t usually rub her tummy :) (she can get super annoying at times too!).
Well, Spikes Mommy Time quickly turned into a realization that he needed a bath. He’s quite a dirty little hog and plus, he’s rather fun to torture because he is such a dramatic grump. So I called for my willing little assistant, got a basin, two (old) toothbrushes, water and a cup, and proceeded to give the little guy a bath!
Naked hog in a bathtub!
Scrub a dub dub, one hog in a tub!!
Ella thought it was especially funny when he pooped in the water. Not someone who you’d want to go swimming with…
Finally, wrapped in a towel drying (he pooped in his towel, too :)
This was royally entertaining to Ella and me. We loved it! And we ended up with a squeaky clean hog, too :). Fun for the whole family… except maybe Spike!
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