a tale of two hamlets

Forgive the corniness of the title.  It gave me great joy.

So, long story short: Petco killed our Hamlet.

Long story long:

We hadn't had him a week, most days he slept and shook, then, he was freaking out: 

flipping all over his cage and biting himself.

We realized he didn't have any fur left on his front legs, and his mouth wouldn't close.

He seriously looked possessed.

After trying to treat him ourselves with a homemade remedy for mites (it wasn't mites),

we took him back to Petco, where they bought him back and sent him to the vet.

...FOUR WEEKS LATER...

I get a phone call (yesterday) telling me he's finished his last round of meds and is ready to be picked up!

JOY OF JOYS!

Today, Kev and I drive down (~30 miles away) to pick up our Ham.

We enter the store.

We approach a salesperson.

We tell her we're here for our hamster.

She rolls her eyes, and begrudgingly speaks to us.

"Yeah, he didn't make it."

...

Wait - what?

Apparently he had died yesterday.  After the phone call was made.

We didn't get any sort of call telling us the poor little guy "didn't make it."

Now, I'm confused.  

When we had him admitted, the salesperson said it was because we purchased the wrong bedding and it was choking him; the salesperson was supposed to have told us which bedding to use.

...

I'm still really wanting a hamster, though, so we head home (quite upset), 

and stop at a PetSmart on the way.

Their selection of hamsters was pleasing, and we picked out a replacement Hamlet.

This one is active: running all around his cage and in his wheel and drinking water and doing the whole circulation again.

We ask the salesperson what type of bedding to use; he points it out to us; it's the same thing we used for Hamlet I, which supposedly had KILLED HIM.

As we go through the paperwork with the salesperson, 

he explains that all of their animals are "vet assured".

...

Conclusion: 

Petco sold us a defective, already sick hamster.

That, or he found out he would have to come home to us and decided to end it.

Rest in peace, Hamlet I.

All hail and long live Hamlet II!