Hamster Abuse?

Question
My sister refuses to leave our dwarf hamster alone. She is constantly holding it, or letting it roam the house on it's own (put on kitchen table for example by food and where dogs can reach the hamster), and already the hamster has broken an arm from one of its several falls. My sister thinks the hamster deserves to be let out of its cage though, and even takes her to school most days, allowing other adolescents to handle the hamster. Our hamster is old now, and losing currently dull fur, twitchy, but still very gentle-she doesn't bite. My sister is a teenager and thinks of hamsters as her life, but the way she handles hamsters...Is it form of animal abuse?

Answer
Dear Angelcat2191,
I wouldn't say your sister is abusing the animal. I think that she just doesn't understand that dwarf hamsters are perfectly content and often prefer to be left in their cage. She sounds like she wants to have the hamster's best interest in mind and just needs to understand some things. First off hamsters enjoy being held in the evening the majority of the time and don't like being out all day (such as day long school trips) since they are nocturnal. Also even though hamsters are fine being held she needs to have their safety in mind at all times. Explain to her that it is a dangerous situation for hamsters to be in reach of dogs and to be on high surfaces. Try helping her understand that a counters distance is like a house or higher for a hamster.
Hoping all goes well,
Lorelei