Brave, dignified, noble little Monkey passed away on the 9th of November 2009. He was a beautiful grand old hamster, who will live on in our memories now he is at peace. What a cool little dude. We both loved him dearly. His passing has broken both our hearts.

He came in to our lives and in 2 short years gave us so much joy and was the recipient of so much love, before his old age and weak heart meant that this beautiful little creature had to be put to sleep. He was so brave and dignified, right to the end, keeping his fur in order, cleaning himself as best he could. At the end he was still eating his favourite things, sunflower seeds, dandelion leaves and broccoli but the effort of even having a drink and a snack would cause him to collapse puffing and panting, falling asleep where he lay before waking again and shuffling back to his nest to sleep.

Every creature, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, is a living, breathing, thinking, caring and feeling being who deserves our respect and care. Gone are the days when animals are seen as soulless automatons put on the planet for our benefit, an opinion I've always held to be ignorant and self-serving. Care for all animals as if they were your own children, they are a blessing on this planet.

"The use of the word 'dominion' in Genesis, where it is written that God gives man dominion over all creatures, is controversial. Some consider this to be a flawed translation of a word meaning 'stewardship', a word which would indicate that mankind was given a great responsibility to take care of the earth and its various forms of life."