After sloppily rolling his sleeves up his lanky forearm, my 16-year-old brother, Chris, gently nudged the blue plastic igloo that housed his new, eccentric pet. Inside, the mini mammal stirred, quills scratching the plastic. This animal was the result of a months-worth of tears and pleas to our father, who finally, but reluctantly, agreed. “Just because they aren’t fluffy, doesn’t mean they don’t make great pets,” Chris said. “You wouldn’t know it,” he spoke while lifting the heavy-eyed hedgehog from his home, “but they are really fun and pretty relaxed, and they don’t need as much care as a cat or dog.” I didn’t quite agree with him on this one, another dog would have been cooler. I was going to need a lot more convincing. However, this was definitely an interesting surprise to come home to after a long semester.
My brother sat cross-legged on the floor across from the huge plastic tub which housed the animal. Gently, he pulled the tub closer and removed the little igloo. Inside, the hedgehog moved and squeaked lightly. He removed the igloo, scooped the tiny creature into his hands and placed him in his lap. “This is Spike!” he said proudly “He’s a blonde African Pygmy hedgehog, which means that he’s a rare color,” said Chris with a laugh while flipping the animal over in his hands. Spike crawled up his arm and he calmly set him down on the floor, already accustomed to his squirming. I have to admit, he was pretty cute. Suddenly, Spike made a dash across the carpet, but it was short lived. Chris grabbed him with a swift scoop and returned him to his lap. Then he held him upside down and all of a sudden his legs and face disappeared, his quills curled completely around him. “Hedgehogs can completely hide their faces and soft bellies. They roll up like this for protection or just when they get scared,” he said. Slowly, Spike’s head appeared once more and he stuck his nose out to sniff the air, this time I laughed too. “It doesn’t hurt to touch his quills,” Chris added while he ran his hands across the top half of the hedgehog. “Want to hold him?” he asked, putting the squirmy creature in my face. Nervously, I accepted and he plopped the prickly hedgehog into my hands. Terrified, yet strangely intrigued, I knew in that moment that this animal would be my new best friend.
Don’t tell our dog, but Spike is easily the coolest pet in the world. First of all, he’s a snap chat celebrity. Chris and I once reenacted The Lion King and held him in the air while attempting to sing “Circle of Life”. Amusing, yet unsuccessful because neither of us could pronounce the words in Zulu. Not only is Spike a great actor, he is also the perfect homework companion. He likes to sit in our sweatshirt pockets while we work. The most entertaining day of the week however is bath day. Hedgehogs can float on their backs, so when we introduced Spike to a sink full of water he became an instant hedgehog boat. I never expected to enjoy this tiny animal so much, but he has his own little personality that slowly rubbed off on the whole family, even Dad. After tons of begging, our Dad finally agreed to let us put Spike on our Christmas card, but under one condition. We had to get the hedgehog to wear a santa hat. Chris and I accepted the challenge. After 20 minutes of making props and positioning Spike, he was camera ready. He was the star of our Christmas card. Friends and family from all over were asking all about the adorable Santa-hatted animal on the back of our card.
Spike has taught me a very valuable lesson over the past year, don’t judge animals by their looks. He may not be soft and cuddly, but he’s definitely the greatest pet around.
