A childhood friend had a hamster named "Hammie" partly as a paen to Mark Hamill and partly as a variant of "hamster." Hammie had an untimely demise when he fell off my friend's shoulder. Said friend kept dead Hammie in his room for a week or two before I told his mother.

Perhaps this woman is talking to a person who is refering to a pet named "Hamlet." The pet's owner could be an English or Theatre major.