Arlington Pet of the Week: Prickles

This week’s Arlington Pet of the Week is Prickles, a hedgehog who got involved in one of the Arlington County Board’s recent policy debates.

Here is what his owner John had to say:

Cats and dogs are great, don’t get me wrong, but few have won recent legislation battles with Arlington County.

In an article this year, your website covered an exception for hedgehogs in the new exotic animal ban. My hedgehog, Prickles, was part of that fight.

After emailing the county on behalf of the Arlington hedgehog community, the county responded and reassured us that Prickles was A-OK in their books and that his voice was heard loud and clear throughout their offices.

So who is Prickles? Well, he is a 1-year-old African hedgehog who was born in the countryside of Winchester, Va. He spends most days curled up in a small fleece sleeping bag (we should all be so lucky).

At night is when the magic happens. Around 10 p.m. or so, he wanders out for water and a quick bit to eat (dry cat food).

Gold’s Gym is closed at this point, so instead he rotates between sessions of running on his wheel and powerwalks with toilet paper tubes on his head. Some of his favorite toys are ping pong balls, cat toys with bells and PVC tubes to run through.

Prickles isn’t much of a talker: just the occasional squeak or hiccup. He also doesn’t fetch, kill mice, roll over, or care about laser pointers; these things are beneath him.

While he certainly can be lazy, and he is most certainly grumpy when he wakes up; my finance and I love him, and hope you guys will consider a pet outside of the box, yet has recent relevance to Arlington, for your Pet of the Week.

PS: He thinks Sonic projects an unrealistic body image for all other hedgehogs. Just kidding, he loves him, but he does hate those pesky water levels.

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of six consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.

Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.