The Hedgehog Principle

I have gathered with basically the same ladies every Tuesday night for the past 7 years. Over the years we have had guests but last night was a first, we had a pet visit. Not your ordinary cute puppy or average house cat but a hedgehog. I have seen one before but never interacted with one or had a close up and personal encounter with one.

Vlad the Impaler

My friend Lauren brought little Vlad to join us for coffee. No, Vlad did not partake of the coffee - or the belated Margaritas and chips and salsa (we missed Cinco de Mayo so we had Ocho de Mayo- I'm always late for everything so it seemed fitting) anyhooo...  but he did have a little cilantro, so he was in the spirit of things. Funny thing he would do is eat the cilantro and then kinda spit it back up onto his back, I looked it up and it's called Anointing or Self-Anointing - for real - it has a name this is what the website said:

[The act of frothing at the mouth, arching the head back over the shoulders and depositing the frothy saliva onto the quills. Triggered by pungent smells and new tastes. The exact purpose of anointing is unknown.]

At first I thought he would remind me of a rat, (he is not a rodent but a mammal) but really, not so much, HE was cute! Well, cute but not really cuddly cute, more of a small distance cute. He would puff out his little quills and Lauren said he does lose them occasionally (he has between 5 and 7 THOUSAND) and they are more painful in the night then a lego block, and I remember all too well, embedding one of those in the fleshy part of your foot in the dead of night. He would also hiss a bit when we got too close but only curled up in a ball once, I took that as a sign he actually liked us but was being coy.

The funniest thing to watch was Vlad and his beloved toilet paper tube. He would poke his little spiky head inside, and move to something stable so he could get it on snuggly and then walk around. Then almost like he was in a drunken stupor he would just kind of fall over. -and before you PETA people, get your no animal product panties in a bunch..... HE chose to stick his head in it, and if you took it off, he did it again, so it was his choice, no animal cruelty here! Lauren is one of the best pet-parents I know, so don't be a hater.

 Another thing Vlad enjoyed was playing in his strips of fleece, he would burrow under them until one was caught on his back and strut like he was wearing cashmere Chanel. A little prickly fashionista, he was.

You know, I always enjoy coffee and laughter with my friends, but having Vlad the Impaler was great entertainment, I would welcome him back anytime.