Header Photo of Danica's Pet Hedgehog with a stuffed Bunny

January’s Featured Blogger: Hank the Hedgehog

Featured Bloggers

I’ve never thought of Hedgehogs as pets until I ran into Hank over at Living a Beautiful Life. After I interviewed Danica, I researched Hedgehogs and decided to interview Hank the Hedgehog.

Hank the Hedgehog
Hank The Hedgehog

I sat down with Danica and Hank over a lunch of cold meal worms and
began our interview:

When did Hedgehogs start to become popular as pets?

Hank: Hedgehogs first became popular as pets in North America in 1980-90.

Are the hedgehogs kept as pets in the U.S. born in the U.S.

Hank: Yes, all hedgehogs kept as pets in the U.S. are born in the U.S.

How does Hank feel when Danica blogs about him?

Hank: When I first noticed Danica blogging about me I took over immediately    because I’m curious and like to explore new things.  Danica quickly realized that I prefer speaking for himself.  I’m small but I have a strong personality.

photograph og a hedgehog with stuffed animals
Stop with the stuffed animals already

What does Hank like best about Danica?

Danica: What Hank likes best about me is that I tells it like it is.  Whenever Hank announces that he’s going to live in the wild, I explain that he’d likely die within a week.  It would be 50-50 odds he’d wind up as dinner or as roadkill.

Hank: Danica means well but she’s wrong:  I have extraordinary survival skills.  I indulge her because she brings me meal-worms; but stop with the stuffed animals already.

While no pets should ever be released into the wild, I’m a special case.  I’m from the streets  and through a series of misadventures wound up on death row lock-up (i.e., the city pound).

Here’s my story:

I get these cravings for wild game!  I know it’s not PC but you can’t take the hedge out of the hog.  Danica does her best to prepare exotic gourmet meals for me — there’s this venison dish that’s quite tasty! — but I miss the everyday pleasures of my former life.  Ants, grasshoppers, flies, crickets.  I’ve left food out to attract ants and flies, but Danica is quick to clean up after me and she even picked up a couple of flyswatters.

What’s a wild-at-heart hog to do?  One day after she kissed me goodbye (she’s given up telling me to be good), I rounded up my boys:  Rabbit, Pig and Dog.  We flipped open the laptop near my crib and did some online shopping.  I ordered an ant farm and live fishing bait.  We clicked “next-day delivery”.  They couldn’t guarantee delivery time.  How could I make sure Danica wouldn’t be around?  Well, I couldn’t.  Then it hit us!  If you can’t get rid of them, distract them.  So, we added two dozen roses to the order!

Oh yeah, it played out like a bank heist.  She loved the flowers and the card really got her attention:  “All my love across the miles, from some dude who isn’t Kyle.”  LOL!  Oh man, it cracks me up every time I think of it.  She’s arranging the flowers trying to figure out, first, who is Kyle?  Second, who is this some dude?

We could almost see the wheels turning in her brain and she didn’t notice us bringing in the ants and live bait.  We managed to get the contraband rolled up in my new blanket — a pink blanket with flowers!  Bane of my existence.  That’s another story.

Anyway, what’s the lesson here?  Chicks dig flowers, man.  And secret admirers.  You’re welcome, bro.

Peace out.

Danica:  I’ve never thought of hunting.  I would like to learn how to fire weapons, outside of video games.  There aren’t any shooting ranges nearby so it hasn’t happened yet.  I’d like to fire rocket launchers and drive tanks too, but that may remain a distant dream.

Hedgehogs are carnivores and mostly hunt insects.  The domesticated hedgehogs that westerns love as pets are small, and to them insects are “wild game”.  Well, that’s that Hank calls them anyway.

Oh, and as for the “chicks” and “bro” references — Hank respects all orientations.  His experience using flowers to distract people is limited to chicks only, so he can’t speak to how it may or may not work on the bros out there.

Photograph of a hedgehog next to a potted plant
Hank the Hedgehog in the Wild

~ Hank the Hedgehog

All Material (c) Danica Piche 2018 All Rights Reserved

 

 

50 thoughts on “January’s Featured Blogger: Hank the Hedgehog”

    1. Rob is a fantastic interviewer! Hank says, “Hey, thanks, man!”

      Hank is cute and youthful-looking, and because he’s from the streets he’s a lot older than his years.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Rob did a great job! So glad you enjoyed it, M! Shaggy and Hank would have a great time out hunting in the yard or park. They could have growling contests. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      5. Me too! I’m glad she hooked us up. I usually keep a low profile but this interview with you was fun. I’ve sent you chocolate-covered ants…I hear that humans like them fried and sweetened.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Reblogged this on Living a Beautiful Life and commented:

    Hey, Hank the Hedgehog here. Guess what? Rob over at Art by Rob Goldstein interviewed me! What a blast!

    The stuffed animals are still for sale if anyone’s interested. I’ll also accept trades in any wild game, a motorcycle or bus tickets to anywhere.

    Thanks again Rob — you rock, bro.

    Peace out.

    ~ Hank the Hedgehog

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Hey, man! Thanks for the interview — it was a blast! She still hasn’t discovered the ant farm and the live bait was delicious. I’ve buried the stuffed animals until I can sell them online. Maybe I can trade them for a bus ticket outta here!
    Peace out, bro.
    ~ Hank the Hedgehog

    Liked by 1 person

      3. Yes, he’s very curious about everything and surprisingly fearless. He’s careful to protect himself but he never stops exploring. He’s delightful to watch.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Wonderful interview! I adopted a hedgehog once from a a wildlife sanctuary. He stayed around the garden for a few weeks then disappeared never to be seen again.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. It was a lot of fun! Thanks for reading, Mary. 🙂

      I’m not surprised your adopted hedgehog was wild at heart and disappeared on you. If you manage to find one who likes hanging around the house they are wonderfully intriguing pets.

      BTW – They almost all respond to plenty of insects and worms!

      ~ Hank the Hedgehog (and Danica)

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Pingback: January’s Featured Blogger: Hank the Hedgehog – The Militant Negro™

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