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A doting dad who briefly lost his daughter’s hamster has touched the hearts of thousands after his emotional texts were shared on Twitter.
Daniel Veerman (53), from Massachusetts in the US, gave his daughter Steph the fright of her life when he texted her, insisting that she call him immediately regarding an emergency, Daily Mail reports.
The 19-year-old college student thought a family member had died because her father was crying, Buzzfeed news reports.
“Blubbering, he couldn't get out sentences,” Steph said.
She soon found out the cause of her dad’s distress – he couldn’t find Chester, her pet hamster.
“My parents are divorced and my dad is a single dad, and he’s the opposite of what you would think seeing him in this situation,” she said.
“He’s conservative, Catholic, a lawyer, and usually strict, but when it comes to animals and babies, he has the biggest soft spot.”
Chester had previously stayed at Steph’s mother’s house but was sent to live with her father while she was away at university.
“I had a meltdown,” Daniel said after he thought he’d lost Chester.
“I was having a freaking heart attack.”
He went online and looked up how to find the furry critter.
Expert hamster searching sites advised he’d have better luck at night because the animals tend to be nocturnal.
“Right after nightfall, I saw him run across the floor and said, 'Thank God,'” Daniel said.
“I came back and saw him standing on a book, cleaning himself, and I grabbed him.”
Touched by her dad’s panic and hamster-hunting efforts, Steph shared their text exchanges on Twitter, where they quickly went viral.
Sources: Daily Mail, Buzzfeed news
