Dave Eyley Hamster Dug Itself Out of Grave, Renamed 'Jesus'
Dave Eyley is rejoicing after discovering that his beloved pet hamster had dug itself from its grave.
"It's impossible," he first told his wife, but truth is stranger than fiction, and now the hamster is back with his family.
According to Eyley, the hamster was found "cold and lifeless" in his cage. He then proceeded to bury the pet in the backyard. The very next day he received a call from a neighbor telling him, "Your hamster has escaped and I've just caught him."
"It's impossible," Eyley replied. "Our hamster is dead."
But when Eyley returned home that evening, he saw for himself that the small animal was alive and well. "He had rigor mortis when I buried him- and now he's running about," Eyley told The Sun.
The family pet had been named Rhino but has been given the new name, Jesus, after the Easter resurrection.
"We're stunned," Eyley explained, "but happy to have him back."
What could have caused the hamster to be "cold and lifeless" in the first place? Veterinarian Emma Milne told The Sun that hamsters can go into hibernation if their body temperature drops. Owners are encouraged to quickly warm the animals back up in order to prevent their death; if there is doubt about the hamster's liveliness, take it to a vet.
Eyley told the Daily Mail that he had given Rhino several opportunities to prove he was still alive.
"I left him all day to go to work, and he was in the same position when I returned. I poked him several times, but he didn't move. He was dead. I put him in a plastic box and buried him … and that was that, or so I thought."
"Whether the sudden cold snap last week had made him go into some sort of hibernation mode, I don't know. But it's a fact that he came round again and burrowed out of the hole I dug with a spade in the garden," the pet owner added.
