UK woman travels 7,000 miles to Hawaii to scatter hamster’s ashes

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Losing a pet can be a painful process for anyone, and the grieving process differs for each owner. One woman from the United Kingdom is going above and beyond to honor her pet hamster Spud by scattering his ashes at his most favorite place.

The trip to Hawaii — approximately 7,000 miles away from home — would be the first time for both of them, as well as their last adventure together.

Lisa Murray-Lang, 46, got Spud about six months before the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in March 2020.

“So we were stuck at home. Scared! My work as a self-employed pet sitter stopped! I was really worried and anxious!” Murray-Lang explained. “I let my hamster out in his exercise ball one day. After a while, I couldn’t hear him.”

She realized Spud had taken off the lid and escaped. Panicking, she called out to her hamster saying, “Spud come out! I haven’t got time…” before realizing, she did.

“None of us knew how long this thing would last!” said Murray-Lang. “So I then realized, he’s been in lockdown all his life, especially living with four rescue cats!”

Murray-Lang decided at that point to create adventures for Spud by making cardboard versions of famous sites with a twist, such as London Bucking-ham Palace to see the Queen, the wizard school Hamwarts, New York to see his friend Stuart Little and other fun places.

“He had fun and my mind was kept occupied! He saved my sanity! He gave me a reason to get out of bed and never to give in or give up! I owe him my life!” said Murray-Lang.

Spud’s favorite place to visit was Hamwaii (Hawaii) with the sand and sun. Murray-Lang added that during this time, they were covered in so much snow, it was depressing. Researching Hawaii to build this cardboard version helped cheer her up.

In March, Spud died at 3 years and 5 months old. According to Murray-Lang, this is equivalent to approximately 138 in human years. To mark his passing, she decided to travel to Hawaii to spread his ashes at his favorite place to visit. After a long journey of traveling from Birmingham to Amsterdam to Los Angeles to Honolulu, Murray-Lang and Spud have finally made it.

“So far the people here are amazing!” said Murray-Lang.

She’s currently in Waikiki with plans to stay for two weeks. At this time, she hasn’t scattered his ashes yet, but when she does, she wants to keep a little for herself to put in an urn necklace. That way, he’ll be with her wherever she goes.

“Spud really came to my rescue when I needed to get through the horrific time that was COVID-19!” said Murray-Lang. “He may have only been small, but he made such an impact on my life.”