Hot hamster found locked in man's glove compartment

Police smelled a rat when they stopped a man who matched the description of a suspected thief on Thursday. But while searching Hans Kaiser's car for the allegedly stolen loot, they happened to smell another rodent: an overheated hamster locked in the vehicle's glove compartment.

Kaiser, 43, of Oakland Park, was arrested on one count of animal cruelty, two theft charges and one count of driving with a suspended license. He's being held in the Broward Main Jail without bond.

The hamster has been taken to a local wildlife rehabilitation center for treatment, said Cmdr. Michael Oh, a police spokesman.



Police say Kaiser swiped several eyeglass frames from the Eyesite Vision Center, 2490 N. Federal Highway, at about 4:30 p.m. Officers found him an hour after the alleged theft as he walked to his car from a bar close to the retailer, Oh said.

Officers searching his car found one of the eyeglass frames, Oh said. They also found a wet, frightened hamster inside the closed glove compartment.

"The officers thought it was a dead rat at first, but then it moved when they touched it," Oh said. An officer at the scene recorded the temperature at 90 degrees. Investigators think the hamster was in the car for at least an hour. Kaiser has refused to tell police why he kept the hamster in the glove compartment or if he's even the animal's owner.