Of course, all parents just want the best for their kids. So, you can imagine how terrible one father felt when he lost his daughter’s beloved hampster! Despite everything, this dad still managed to go viral along the way, due to just how much he loved his daughter…
Blooming Friendship
Daniel Veerman, a 53-year-old lawyer, and father of one, didn’t always love smaller creatures. However, he still agreed to take care of his daughter’s, Stephanie’s, pet hamster Chester while she went off to college.“At first, I wasn’t too keen on him. I grew up with German shepherds. I’ve never had, you know, when I first got it, it was like a mouse. It wouldn’t be my first choice of pet. But then I got attached. And even more, because you’re taking care of it for your daughter,” Daniel said.
Over time, Daniel and Chester started becoming real friends. In fact, they would play together and even take selfies for Stephanie! Everything seemed like it was going perfectly…
Cunning Creature
Unfortunately for Daniel, Chester turned out to be quiet a smart little hamster! “He’s a cunning creature,” Daniel said. One day, Daniel left “to clean the cage…and came back, and he was gone, and I had a heart attack!” It seemed Chester had figured out a way to escape from captivity!
Immediately, Daniel stopped everything he was doing and started looking for Chester. Daniel got down on all four and checked everywhere with a flashlight, tried to use food to lure him out, even called out Chester’s name – everything! But nothing worked. Eventually, Daniel decided that he needed to text his daughter and tell her about the situation he found himself in.
While Stephanie also found the situation stressful, she found quite a bit of humor in her father’s texts. You see, her father not only seemed incredibly determined to find her furry friend, he felt genuinely terrible about losing Chester! “I’m wicked sorry…I’ll keep looking all day,” he wrote in one text. “This is the most stressful day in my life since I took the bar exam,” Daniel told his daughter in another.
Soon enough Daniel had started to create elaborate traps in hopes of catching Chester…
Mission Completed
After searching for ways to catch a hamster on Google, Daniel Veerman set up several traps for Chester and simply waited. “I re-created his cage in my office, took his toys, and treats all around. Put out water. I thought if I didn’t find him, at least he wouldn’t die because he would have food,” he said in another adorable text (seen above). Meanwhile, to track the hamster’s footprints, he used flour on the floor, hoping it would leave a trail behind.
Animal lovers, do not fret: while Chester had a nice day off, Daniel found him later that night. “Right after nightfall, I saw him run across the floor and said, ‘Thank god.’ I came back and saw him standing on a book, cleaning himself, and I grabbed him,” Daniel told his daughter trough the texts after, sending her pictures of Chester in his cage.
Afterward, Stephanie could not help but share the story online, and it went viral almost immediately. Now, everyone around the world can enjoy Daniel’s dedication to Chester.
Sources: BuzzFeed News, MSN.
