Stinky is Sleuthing like Sherlock!

Hello, readers.  Stinky the hamster here

Following a rather close call with a devious catnapper – and a particularly smelly search through our neighbour’s rubbish bin – I have come to the conclusion that I’m very much like a small, furry Sherlock Holmes! The great Sherlock Holmes lived at 221B Baker Street, London and I live in a small cage in Ben’s bedroom, but the famous detective and I actually have rather a surprising amount in common:

1.     We’ve both got silly names. My full name is Jasper Stinkybottom. (I did not choose my own name.)

2.     When Sherlock had a difficult case to solve, he often smoked a pipe or played the violin to help him think.  Of course, smoking is a very bad habit indeed, especially for rodents, and I don’t have access to musical instruments.  However I do have a wheel in my cage, and going for a run often helps me to come up with ideas (and helps me keep fit at the same time). Great minds really do think alike!

3.     My owner, Ben, asked me point out another similarity: Sherlock Holmes could often be short-tempered, and, according to Ben, I have been known to lose my temper, too – so would you, if you were stuck in a cage pretty much all of the time, and had to sleep only 15 centimetres from your own poo..

4.     Both Sherlock and I appear in books!  Mr Holmes stars in the brilliant stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who is widely regarded as one of the great writers of the last 200 years. My adventures, on the other hand, feature in the ‘Stinky & Jinks’ books written by a guy called Dave Lowe, who is sometimes regarded as one of the best writers in his own family.

5.     Sherlock has an assistant called Dr Watson, who is an actual doctor, and who is nice and helps him solve crimes.  I have Ben.  He’s nine.  He’s not particularly bright, and doesn’t clean out my cage enough, but he is occasionally helpful when I’m trying to solve a mystery . . .

I don’t want to seem immodest, but surely I must be the best hamster detective of all time?! See for yourself in the latest Stinky and Jinks adventure, My Hamster is a Detective – it’s much shorter than the Sherlock Holmes novels, and is full of brilliant pictures, including one or two of me . . .