My Hamster Lucy
Over 46 minutes and 38 seconds on October 24, 2007, Lucy ran about a quarter of a mile. At her fastest, she reached speeds of four inches per second. Considering that Lucy, a hamster, has the physical dimensions of a large (and shapely) potato, those are some impressive stats. But this is no ordinary pet. Thanks to a Dutch software engineer named Mathijs van der Paauw, Lucy has emerged as one of the Web's most unlikely stars.
When Mathijs was in junior high, he befriended a schoolmate who had a hamster with an extensive "tubed cage" set-up. The young Mathijs was impressed. Years later, when he felt ready to get a pet, he opted for a hamster. It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship: "After taking care of my hamster the first couple of days, I got so amazed by this wonderful little animal, it captured me in such a way that I got interested in learning more... and (getting) to know them in a personal way."
Thus was the stage set for My Hamster Lucy, an astonishingly detailed website about the cute pouchy-cheeked animal. (Currently, the site focuses on Lucy 3.0, who has succeeded Lucy 2.0 and the original Lucy, hamsters having shorter life spans than most blogs.) Today, an interested viewer can see Lucy snooze in her "meditation room," watch Mathijs prepare special meals for his pet, examine one of the multiple webcam channels of hamster action, or pour over Lucy's daily exercise regime.
For fans, the interaction doesn't stop there. Questions about the hamster now pour in from Lucyophiles around the world ("Is it possible to see a photo of her next to something else—for scale?") and people send in pictures of themselves and their pets posing with Lucy's head shot, a feature Mathijs has dubbed "Extreme HamsterTrackin'."
But what inspired him to record Lucy's every move? Mathijs says, "It didn't take long for questions to arise; how much does a hamster run in the treadmill? What does she do when I am not there?" Most pet owners might just muse over these questions. Not this inventive developer. He soon married a "10-year old electronics project" with "a system that tracks the treadmill; keeping track of Lucy's speed and distance... it automatically updates this information to the website..."
Like so many creators of improbably popular sites, Mathijs is astounded by the reaction to his webpage. When we ask him what he wishes people understood about My Hamster Lucy, he responds humbly, "I don't really try to project a certain message at HamsterTracker.com other than taking care of a pet, however small, is a big and fun task. I hope that other pet owners can find some inspiration in having fun with their pets as I do with my dear little Lucy."
Mathijs claims that running the site takes no more time than caring for the average dog. We suspect he's imagining a highly demanding puppy, but when we ask whether he's ever tempted to just call it a day and shut the whole thing down, he responds with ardor:
"It is so much fun doing what I am doing, that I can't stop this hobby (certainly at this moment). It is not uncommon that, while exercising my hobby I hear my self saying: "I DO LOVE THIS HOBBY!!!" out loud.
Is there anything he regrets? "Fortunately, I don't think I have anything to be regretful about. The entries published are all written with a loving wink to my hamster."
That Lucy is one lucky little creature.
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