Lisa n Tom (n James n Joseph)

Lisa writes: After a bad day at work, Tom surprised me with a new hamster! He left work early to sneak down to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter and endure 35 minutes of paperwork and interviews to "adopt" a $5 rodent. (Part of the paperwork says that FCAS reserves the right to come to your home and verify the health and living conditions of the animal at any time. I really, really hope somebody shows up to check on this critter in her two-story hamster palace.) Apparently this is standard operating procedure at shelters. My sister Debbie said, "My Mexican neighbor just adopted a cat and said it's got more papers than she does." When I texted out the news to friends and family members, I got 14 versions of the same joke in reply: Christi: "Hello Bernadette... Are you sure it's not Bernie?"

Lisa writes: Jimmy (formerly "Jenny") the Hamster passed away today while we were at work. He died peacefully in his sleep in his blue, plastic igloo, surrounded by the newspaper shavings and hoard of seeds and food pellets that he loved. He is survived by owners Lisa and Tom, who will soon be in the market for a new hamster. Memorial tributes have been received from friends far and wide including the following from Christi R., "He's a happy hamster running on his eternal wheel in the sky ... eating cherubic Cheerios." And this from Jenny M., "How appropriate! Xander (age 7) prayed that Jimmy will be happy in heaven and that people will care for him there. So cute! He also wants to wear black tomorrow." A video tribute from Mom via Debbie D.:

Lisa's brother Donny write: "I'm just out saving baby polar bears... No big deal."