Meet Lola. I may rename her, but for now she’s Lola. She’s about a year old. She comes from a very nice home that just had too many animals in it. I saw her on Craigslist and decided that she needed to move to my bedroom.

I’ve really, really wanted a Roborovski dwarf hamster (robo, for short.) It’s kind of sad. I firmly maintain that robos are the cutest mammals on the face of the earth. Cuter than cocker spaniel puppies. Cuter than red pandas. Yes, even cuter than fennec foxes. Behaviorally, they’re not very cuddly, they’re incredibly fast, and they’re hyperactive. Picture any hamster you’ve met, then (metaphorically) give it a half-dozen Ritalin washed down with a liter of Mountain Dew. I’ve never owned one before, since they’re not very common and only recently started being a fixture at the big-box pet stores.

I was talking to Naomi about my plans to adopt a robo. “They’re very, very small hamsters,” I explained.

“You mean, compared to those giant hamsters you have now?”

“Well, yes,” I answered, before I even realized she was kidding. My current hamsters do seem giant to me. Perspective.

This started a few weeks ago. I walked into Petsmart looking for a Carefresh sale, and saw a big pile of robos curled up in one of the cages, being adorable. I thought that a pair of the critters would be nice, but decided to delay the adoption until after payday, and as a reward when I cleaned up the living room.

After making this decision, I had an animal lover’s crisis–should I adopt two robo sisters, which I’ve always wanted…from a chain pet store, thus supporting the raising and selling of animals in conditions I don’t approve of? Or should I wait until a regular Campbell’s dwarf hamster showed up on Petfinder or Craigslist? A robo showing up was so unlikely that it was out of the question.

I knew what I should do, but I also knew that I’d feel guilty one way and bratty the other, so I just didn’t adopt a hamster at all. Until Lola showed up on Craigslist!

So she’s here, next to my desk, and she even has her own uStream channel. You know you want to watch it.

She’s so cute, I can’t bear that she won’t let me pick her up and cuddle her. But I’ll manage.