“Hammy” a Groundspeak Hamster Finds a New Home

Charlie and "Hammy" the Groundspeak Hamster

Jon Hudson (Dakar4x4) will always remember an afternoon phone conversation on May 26th. The quick call marked the finale after weeks of questioning and anticipation.

His daughter Charlie (FluffyDog) called Jon at work to say the postman finally delivered a small package. The box arrived at their United Kingdom home from Seattle, Washington in the United States. He says, “Her excitement was unforgettable.”

The package contained a glossy eyed battery-powered hamster. The toy hamster had starring role in a Geocaching.com video. The segment aired in a continuous loop while the website received a major update in early May. The “Geocaching.com Hamster Power” video played on an old joke – that Geocaching.com is actually powered by hamsters. (It’s not.)

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Inside the package Charlie also found the hamster’s purple wheel and a note. Jon says, “She had the cutest hamster (the exact same one she had taken a liking to in the video) and an adoption certificate from everyone at Groundspeak, even Signal.”

But Jon says he never intended to adopt a toy hamster and Charlie has a cautious interest in any real pets, “She adores animals, but is equally scared out of her wits by them. It takes a long time for her to trust whatever geo-pet we meet on our adventures together, and of course, caching outdoors and going to caching events, we meet a lot!”

Charlie, Hammy and Dad

However, the hamster video struck a chord with Charlie. Jon says,”When Groundspeak announced the retirement of their aging Hamsters with the really cute video, I just had to show Charlie! She watched it again and again and again, still does in fact! As soon as the site was upgraded though, the video disappeared from the main screen and she asked where all the hamsters had gone. I explained that as per the story, they had been retired and the new ones were now running the geocaching site behind the scenes. Her immediate reaction was to ask where the retired ones had gone now that they were retired. That of course left me somewhat stumped, and so after being asked many times, I agreed to email.”

Soon a Groundspeak Lackey emailed a response. Jon quickly showed Charlie, “When she came home from school I watched her read it, she could not contain her excitement! One of the retiring Hamsters was going to be adopted over to Charlie! Now it wouldn’t be me getting the questions about checking the emails every hour for a response, but our poor post man, who was watched like a hawk for anything Hamster shaped being delivered from Seattle!”

Two Groundspeak hamsters still need homes!

The retired hamster, “Hammy” is happy in its new home. Jon says, “Hammy is still surprisingly spirited in his retirement years and has quickly adjusted to his new life with Charlie, who of course, is very proud of her very own, and incredibly famous geo-pet, thanks to everyone at Groundspeak! You folks really are the best!”

Almost all of the retired hamsters from the video found homes on Lackeys desks at Groundspeak Headquarters. The hamsters unblinking eyes and T5 cuteness remind Lackeys to diligently keep the website running at peak performance and to focus on the fun of an activity that allows people get outside and be active.

Here’s your chance to adopt some of that cuteness. Two retired Geocaching.com hamsters from the video still need homes. If you’d like to offer one of the hamsters a “forever home” post a comment on this blog. Explain why you’re the type of geocacher or geocaching family that would provide a good home for a retired Geocaching.com hamster. Please include your Geocaching.com username. The two winning geocachers will be announced by July 1.