So, the great hedgehog hunt began. Even the children from a local elementary school were helping me look for my new pet. Then one day our caretaker Tom went home and found a hedgehog sitting on his doorstep. It was easy as that.

Absolutely ecstatic, I put the cute little guy in a box until I could make a trip to Lerwick to buy him a cage. Not knowing exactly what to feed it I did a search on the Internet and found varying opinions about what they liked to eat. There did seem to be some consensus that dry cat food was a favourite and had good nutrition. So I got him some dry cat food which I supplemented with bugs and worms caught outside.

Hedgie Click to Enlarge

Lerwick has only one pet supply store so I did not have a large selection for his house. I ended up with a large guinea pig cage that gave him lots of room to run. When I moved him into the cage he settled right in and began crawling around the huge space.

At the pet shop I bought him a wicker ball that he could crawl into and roll around. The first time he attempted to crawl in he got stuck. His prickly quills were too large for the whole. It was a comic sight with half a hedgehog sticking out of the ball. As he struggled to get in the ball rolled over and he was sticking out with two feet pointing toward the sky. Worried that he might get hurt I gently extracted him hoping I would not injure him. After he was back on all four feet he once again began to waddle around his cage. Relieved he was okay, I made the holes in the ball bigger.

As soon as I put the ball back in the cage he wiggled right in. This became his favourite place to sleep. He did not seem to mind that he sometimes rolled around the cage when he moved inside the ball.

Asking for suggestions for a name from everyone I talked to, my Grandson, Austin came up with the sure thing. I named him Hedgie, which seemed to fit him perfectly.

It was so much fun having him around. When I rose in the morning he would be already up wandering around his cage. I always ate my breakfast on a plate in a chair beside his cage and found that he loved the dry crunchy corners from my toast.

In the four days I had him Hedgie and I made a strong bond. He was definitely adding joy to my life. But life isn't always fair or kind. One morning I got up and Hedgie was not walking around his cage or was he curled up in his ball. Lying in the corner he was not moving but breathing. I thought he was asleep or maybe had gone into hibernation. It turned out I was wrong as about the middle of the afternoon Hedgie died.

I do not know why he died but I do know I miss him. He added something that was missing for me at the lighthouse - a pet. You would think since I only had four day would not be broken up about the loss. Hedgie had become a part of the life at the lighthouse and mourned him. Tears still come when I think about how much fun I had with my little hedgehog. All of the neighbours are looking for another hedgehog for me but right now it hurts too much to even consider it.

Sad

Sharma

You can find more articles in the archive under Island Miniatures/Lighthouse Letters.

I have two books which are directly related to this column. The Last Lighthouse tells how we bought our lighthouse and in Scottish Lighthouses our lighthouse is featured in the 31 lighthouses presented. You can order autographed copies by clicking on the name of the book.

Other books you might be interested in ordering and having me sign are my book for children, Moonbeam Cow, and "Scotland - The Complete Guide and Road Atlas", a beautiful book for which I did the text.