It’s a tricky thing…

A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. And for nearly three years, Dixie May was included as one in the Milne family.

Any series of google searches about hedgehogs would have taught us that cancer is a leading cause of death in hedgehogs. A simple search would show that any number of studies suggest approximately 2/3 of all pet hedgehogs develop tumors, particularly as they near age three.

But our then eight year old wasn’t researching causes of death when she was working on her research memo in support of hedgehog ownership. She was searching google for the obvious: do hedgehogs make good pets and what do hedgehogs eat and show me videos of cute hedgehogs floating in bathtubs.

It’s a tricky thing to be holding your 10 year old little girl, holding their nearly three year old little hedgehog, at a vet appointment when you hear the word cancer. When you hear the word tumor. When you hear the word ruptured. When you hear the words we’re so sorry and there’s nothing you could have done differently and would you like to stay for the euthanasia? 

Any parent knows the capacity for their child to hold so much love… 

Would you like paw prints? 

…and have so much maturity…

Would you like some of her quills in a tiny vial? 

…while having the largest teardrops you’ve ever seen falling down their cheeks. 

Would you like a wooden box or an urn?

Dixie May Milne
The cutest meanest hedgehog this side of the Mississippi
April 13, 2023 – March 21, 2026