Our History

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I fell in love with hamsters as a little girl with my first sable banded Syrian, Daisy. When I lost her at age 10, I was crushed. I vowed to never adopt another pet with such a short life. Of course, a few years later, I came across a tiny sable runt with a respiratory infection at my local Petco and knew I had to have her. Alice and I were best friends. She lived in 2 critter trails attached by tons of tubes--a cage I thought was huge at the time! After she passed, I started searching for a place to get healthy hamsters to avoid the heartbreak I was facing. That is how I stumbled across the CHA and acquired my first hamster from our former president, Linda Price. I contracted my father to build me a giant plexiglass enclosure for my new girl, Rose, and from there my hamster obsession grew with no foreseeable end. For the next few years, I attended shows and continued to get hamsters from Linda but never dreamed I'd one day be in her shoes.

When I moved off to college and had a one bedroom apartment to myself and my cat, it felt incredibly lonely. I contacted Linda to get a new friend once again, and she told me she was planning on retiring from breeding and dissolving the CHA. I was shocked and terribly sad! I ended up getting 3 more hamsters from her just to be sure I took advantage of what I thought was my last chance to have one of her animals. To my surprise, I was soon contacted by Erin and asked to join her on this crazy adventure. Together, we started our own hamstery based on Linda's animals--a beloved creation we call Cheeks and Squeaks. Amy then contacted us and asked us to help her keep the CHA alive. So here we are! I feel incredibly honored to be working with such fabulous and knowledgeable ladies and together we make a great team!

My obsession with hamsters started in 2015 while working for a pet media company. I walked by a cubicle filled with pet supplies and the sign read, “Free Supplies to Review.” Free is always a word that catches my attention! As I looked around, I saw a Critter Trail Hamster Cage. I thought to myself, “Self, I really would love a hamster!” I had never owned or held a hamster. So, I ran to my desk and started researching hamsters. I pulled the CFO in to help decide on the type of hamster. We all agreed that a Syrian would be the way to go! I took home the supplies and a few days later I went to Petsmart and with the help of the sales assistant, Petunia was chosen! She was a Mink, banded, and long haired Syrian. I got her home and looked at her size versus her cage and something did not seem right. I jumped online and the frenzy began! It took me over an hour to find a decent sized cage and it wasn’t cheap. I started joining hamster groups on Facebook and I was really fascinated with all the information I was learning from other hamster owners. I fell in love with Petunia and found a male I named Earl on Craig’s List.

Because I worked for a pet company, which owned Small Animal Channel, I was made aware that there were Hamster Shows to attend! Along with my co-worker, I attended my first hamster show and purchased my first hamster from a breeder, Linda Price. As time passed, I became obsessed with large cages and decorating them. I even entered and won a couple of contests. I continued learning and sharing information online with other Hamster owners. In November I was asked to join the admin team for a Facebook group that had 16k members at the time and currently is at 20k. Since then I have studied genetics and hamster care as much as my schedule will allow.

In the spring of 2016 Linda Price had officially retired from breeding and would be moving out of state. She handed over CHA to myself, my partner Tony Dean, and Amy Wu. At that same time, Tony and I created Cheeks and Squeaks Hamsters and have continued breeding Linda’s line of Syrians. It has been an awesome adventure and I could not imagine my life without my little fuzzies!

It all started one day many years ago when on a whim, I clicked on a Youtube video showing a group of young Roborovski hamster running madly in their wheels and all around the cage. I was instantly charmed by their manic energy, spirit, and cute white eyebrows. I had kept Syrian hamsters as a kid, but know that these little balls of lightning are really something else! It rekindled my love for hamsters in quite a dramatic way, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

As one who has serious interests in genetics, ethical selective breeding, and the ideal "standards", it was only a natural step to become deeply involved with the club - first as a breeder exhibitionist, then as show secretary, and now as a judge for the club. Moxie Hamstery was born in 2011 out of this passion for breeding excellence, with a focus on Roborovski and Campbell's dwarf hamsters.

It is very fortunate that CHA continues to thrive even at a time when private breeders were fading away with the advent of large commercial breeding mills. I am ever so thankful that our core CHA team is strong and dedicated to the hamster community, each bringing our own strengths in educational outreach, mentorship, and rescue efforts. All of our events have a little something for everyone, so please come join us and say hi!

Happy Paws Hamsters is operated by Monica Garay, who lives in Orange County by South Coast Plaza. Financial professional, a math guru, with a lot of interests in: health, herbal remedies, self development, kundalini yoga, DIY projects and now genetics. I relocated to the US in 2007, after winning the Green Card Lottery and deciding to start all over in another country all by myself.

Now, the story that actually gave birth to the idea of becoming an ethical breeder. 

It wasn’t until my adulthood when I got my first hamster. It was in October 2016 when I went, like a normal person would do, to Petsmart and I saw this little light grey colored hamster (not a silver grey). She was gorgeous. Me and my ex at the time, decided to get her. We bought the “biggest” hamster cage that the pet store was selling, just to find out at home that it was actually not suitable for a hamster. We started researching and purchasing a big cage, all the recommended accessories, toys etc. She was the princess of the household. LITERALLY.

 
I am so grateful for her short time with me, because if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have made a very important decision and go for what I love and what feels good to me. We think these little creatures are insignificant but, although tiny, they manage to leave big footprints in our hearts. I know Minnie did.

It was Friday,  January 5th, 2018 when I came home from work to see her laying in her cage grasping for air. I was NOT ready. It was too soon. I was counting on a few more months, I was just not ready for what was about to happen. She died snuggled in my arms 20-30 minutes after I got home. I think she waited for me to get home so I would be with her in those last few moments. I was heartbroken. Only after a few weeks I was actually able to look up online her symptoms (she had foam coming out of her nose in the last few seconds before passing) and realized that it was very common for pet store hamsters to have genetic diseases that would shorten their already short precious lives. 

In my search for good breeders in the area, the only ones that I was able to find were Cheeks and Squeaks Hamsters with at least 6-8 months wait time. I realized in that moment that we need more ethical breeders, those who care about their hamsters and treat them with the love and respect they deserve.
 

The girls from Cheeks and Squeaks have been very supporting and they have agreed to be my mentors. I would like to express my appreciation for their endless support and inspiration.

Kyle is a special and beloved part of our team, and you're likely to see him at every show and event. He's Tony's husband, and because of that, he was pretty much thrown into the hamster world. While it's not his personal hobby, Kyle does love hamsters and is very knowledgable about them. So don't be afraid to ask him questions!

Kyle is an expert bin cage craftsman and bucket wheel engineer. He is constantly educating people online and encouraging them to update their standards of care. Consequently, he is very well versed in hamster husbandry. He's also pretty good at human "husbandry," with particular expertise in supporting your partner's hobbies--and being a total hero while doing it! We wouldn't be the same without Kyle!