Beethoven

Species: Winter White Dwarf

Gender: Male

Est. Age: 9 months

DOB: 19 June 2019

Likes: Squeezing into tight spaces for naps, gluttony of protein delicacy and burrowing

Dislikes: Eating dried herbs and sudden loud noises (including foster humans squealing delightfully over his cuteness!)

Unlike his namesake, Beethoven is easily appeased. He never puts up a bulwark over a proffered human hand filled with bountiful heaps of nuts, crunchy insects and freeze-dried tofu cubes.

Nonetheless, just like the great composer’s works, Beethoven’s mannerisms are sometimes characterized by formal, harmonic, and structural experimentation. Entice him with a piece of pecan and he will prise it from your grip, before deftly carving his way through mounds of paper bedding back to his haven under the stairs. Dangle any type of millet spray next, and he will approach it with the stealth of a panther, but politely nibble at each grain, before scurrying amongst the cardboard rolls, lacking grace, after a pat on his head.

Beethoven loves to be sandwiched between a wall of his digging pit and a hideout, during downtime. With a foot resting on a ledge, body contorted to the curve of the hideout, head lowered onto the sand and paws doing a salutation seal, he looks determined to be an aerial yoga master. Notwithstanding the boisterous humming of the vacuum during midday or the constant thrumming of traffic outside the window, the calming emanation of Versele-Laga sand beckons Beethoven to do almost anything in the sand pit – including stockpiling his dry mix.

With daily habits pointing towards contrapuntal tendencies, microscopic textures and a generally introverted outlook, watching Beethoven is like an Ode to Joy in your heart. He is currently on his Symphony No. 10 and looking for a forever home to complete it.

Will you be the everlasting melody to help him achieve his final masterpiece?