When I agreed to get my daughter her first pet, I had no idea how life-changing it would be. By Christopher Davies, 40
As I turned into our road, I heard a cheeky little giggle from the back seat of my car.
‘He’s wiggling around in there,’ my daughter Lily said.
‘We’re almost home, then we can set the little fella free!’ I replied, laughing.
In a box on Lily’s lap was
a special new addition to our family – a hamster.
She’d been begging me for her first pet for ages and, after doing lots of research, we’d picked out a little ginger cutie with a white chin.
‘What shall we name him?’
I asked, as we settled him into his cage.
‘How about Popcorn?’
Lily suggested.
It was perfect.
Popcorn settled in quickly, and it wasn’t long before he was an important member of the family, sitting on Lily’s lap in the evenings for a cuddle.
Then, one day, when Lily was at school, I started to
feel my mood spiralling.
I’d just been through a tough break-up, and juggling that with the stress of my job as a nurse, everything was getting on top of me, making me feel low and anxious.
As I paced the living
room, my thoughts racing,
I spotted Popcorn.
He’d come up to the front of his cage and was watching me intently, his little black eyes following me around
the room.
‘What are you looking at?’
I said, walking over.
He squeaked as I lifted him out of his cage and placed him on my lap, just like Lily did.
But as I sat there, Popcorn looked up at me, then crawled up my stomach and snuggled himself into my neck.
‘Oh, hello, do you want a little cuddle?’ I asked him.
'I knew Carrie, was my person'
It was almost like Popcorn could sense I wasn’t feeling my best, and this was his way of making me feel better.
I snapped a few pictures and videos of us together and, when Lily came home,
I couldn’t wait to show her.
‘Wow, Popcorn loves you
so much, Dad,’ she said.
From that moment on,
after a stressful day at work, or when I couldn’t calm my mind, I’d pluck Popcorn out of his cage for a cuddle.
‘It’s so funny that he does this,’ I told Lily. ‘My pals think I should put him online.’
‘Yes! We should do that!’ Lily responded, excited.
Before I knew it, she’d whipped out a piece of paper and started scribbling on it.
‘What are you doing there?’
I asked, curious.
‘I’m making you a schedule,’ she explained.
In brightly coloured pens, Lily wrote down all her ideas for videos of Popcorn, as well as when he should be fed and have exercise time.
We got to work.
Each day, I’d
grab my phone and make videos about Popcorn and his daily life. Some of them were even narrated by Lily, telling fellow hamster lovers how to care for their own furballs.
The likes, comments and followers flooded in, and Popcorn went viral!
Then one day, I noticed
a comment from a woman called Carrie.
Your content is way too cute! she wrote.
Thank you, Carrie! I replied.
I didn’t think much of it,
as Carrie’s comment was one
of hundreds.
But then my phone pinged, and I saw Carrie had sent me a private message.
We got chatting and soon discovered we had loads
in common. We were both nurses, and she lived less than a mile from me.
It wasn’t long before I plucked up the courage
to ask Carrie out on a date.
I paced the living room, waiting for her to arrive, with Popcorn watching
me quietly from his usual spot.
I was so nervous.
But when
I opened the
door to Carrie, she smiled and my nerves quickly dissolved.
‘Hi! It’s so lovely to meet you,’ she said, pulling me
in for a hug.
When Carrie came into
the living room, Popcorn squeaked a greeting.
‘Hello, you,’ Carrie said.
Then she turned to me and asked, ‘Can I get him out?’
As she held Popcorn in
her hands, he clambered up and settled himself close to her face, tickling
her with his little whiskers.
In that moment,
I just knew Carrie was my person.
It wasn’t long before we were
in a relationship.
Then one day, after we’d been dating for two years,
I took Carrie away to London for the weekend.
As we stood at the top
of the Shard, I got down on
one knee.
‘Carrie, I love you. Will you marry me?’ I said.
‘Yes! Of course I will,’
she squealed, sounding just like Popcorn.
It was the happiest moment.
Now, we’re busy planning our wedding.
We’ve even decided to put a little tribute to Popcorn on our cake for the big day. His name will be on the base,
for just us to see.
He deserves a tribute. After all, our happiness is thanks
to our mini-matchmaker!