That dread feeling.

I think one of the worst feelings ever is that sensation of dread you get when you look in where you keep a pet, be a it a fish, a hamster, or a puppy, and you do your usual ritual of waking it up, only to be met with a kind of empty silence.

 Like last year, when Dennis (may he rest in peace) failed to be woken by my feeding or tapping gently on the side of the tank. It's such a horrid "oh no...." feeling.

Today I woke up after a surprisingly quiet night from Biscuit. I didn't think anything of it (I was ridiculously tired yesterday) until I went to get her out and she didn't move. I tried whistling, clicking, tapping the cage, rattling the food bag. Nothing worked.

 In the end I took one last stab at waking her before i opened the cage and opened the lid of her house. I blew a quick puff of air down the chimney.

The house jumped and an indignant nose peeped out.

Phew!