Was IBU to freeze DD’s hamster?

[SandyDrawsBadly]

I came downstairs on DDs Birthday to find that Wonder Woman the hamster was dead. Stupid fucking hamster

I didn’t want to upset DD on her birthday so didn’t tell her before I dropped her at school. I doubled checked when I got home in case it had been sleeping, but this was one cold dead stiff hamster and it’s red eyes were all grey, so it was definitely dead.

I didn’t want to ruin her birthday, but I didn’t want a slowly decomposing hamster in the warm living room either. so I popped it into a freezer bag and hid it underneath the frozen veg out of the way. I got her out the next day, defrosted her in the cage and “discovered” her death the next morning. Two days post birthday.

I was telling my friend but she said this was ridiculous over protective parenting.

So, was I unreasonable to freeze the hamster and has anyone else done stuff to save upset as I can’t be the only one, surely!

Perfectly reasonable. Not sure I would have been so quick thinking, but certainly saved the heartache on her birthday.

YWNBU.

I would probably do the same.

And given that hamsters are crepuscular (amazing what you can learn from children's books, I got that gem from 'My Hamster is a Genius'!) it is not surprising that the OP's DD didn't notice the lack of activity when she went past the cage.

Completely get not telling her on her birthday. Birthdays are a big deal to kids! Freezing it is... hilarious.

I think her birthday was a good day to tell her to be honest, the distraction of getting presents/party being birthday princess would have distracted from the hamster sadness.

My cat got knocked down and the murderer driver kindly took his body to the RSPCA as he didn't know what to do with it. The RSPCA put his body in their freezer until I could be reunited with him. I took him home wrapped in a blanket frozen solid, that was pretty distressing but I got his body back I suppose, which I may not have done had he been picked up by the council.

I froze my cat because DS wanted to be there for the funeral. Infinitely better than the alternative of allowing him to be invaded by fly maggots. And no, I didn't sterilise the freezer afterwards.

When my friend's dd's goldfish died during the night, I went round really early and we shaped one from a carrot and put it in the bowl until we could get a replacement later that day!! Her dd 4 never noticed!!

This is without doubt, one of the most bizarre threads I've come across.

i think thats absolutely crazy but brilliant thinking!

I may rot in Hell, but I am seriously laughing over this. I do have a friend who has consistently replaced her daughters hamster with an identical one about 5 times now - the garden is full of hamster graves. The poor daughter presumably thinks hamsters live forever....

I looked after a friend’s goldfish when she went to Australia. It died before her plane even landed in Australia (very very old fish), and she was away for a month!
My friend was a catholic, and it was my understanding that they have open caskets at funerals, so I thought she may want to view the body of the fish. So I put it in a plastic tub and kept it in the freezer till she came back.
She didn’t want to see it though, and thought I was bonkers!!

The alternative to freezing it would have been to put it in the fridge (it would easily last a day or two) or cook it (well...).

Is that not ever so minty and rank putting an animal corpse where there's food.
Food as in chicken, beef, pork and so on?

And I don't think it's particularly overprotecting. Just less hassle, really.

You froze a dead hamster under the peas? This is some serial killer shit.

OP you are totally and utterly batshit.

I know about hamster hibernating, but this most definitely was a dead hamster.

Anyone else conjuring up images of the "dead parrot"?

I love you OP.

I froze dd's hamster when it died as she was on a PGL trip and I thought she might want a funeral.

That was 8 years ago and I haven't found it since. It's either still in the freezer or has possibly gone in a freezer clear out but anytime I've binned anything ancient looking I have double checked to make sure it isn't a hamster.

One day I will defrost an unidentified bag of something and it will be Elmo.

nico that’s hilarious!!!

Oh op you sound just on my wavelength. And a caring mum too. YANBU.
Our pet died on Halloween. There was no time for burying before school, and the dc went trick or treating straight after school. So there we were in the garden at night, pitch black, holding torches up so DH could dig the hole, one dc dressed as a grim reaper and the other as a zombie, burying this pet. God knows what the neighbors thought.

My younger sister and I had goldfish as children. I had a gold one and she had a silver one. And every so often mine would die. But my sister's lived for about ten years.

It was only many years later I realised that actually my mum just loved my sister a lot more than me.

Nico LOLOLOL

Brilliant OP. I hope you don't have a dog or anything too big to fit in the freezer

riotlady IME they really really do want to see the corpse.

This is truly excellent, and I think one of those stellar example of the way we can go a bit bonkers when navigating young kids and life stuff.
Good for you for being ingenious and 100% safeguarding birthday joy.
And do ignore all the bitchy comments suggesting you’re unhinged - its a perfectly logical solution to a tricky situation

I’m reassured to know that I’m not the only person who’s frozen a pet and some of the replies on this thread are hilarious

We are 3 hamsters down and no way would I let my daughter find out one had died on her birthday!!! We still talk about Midnight's funeral/grace EVERY time we drive past the old house, 7years on!!!