We lost our big girl, Twix, yesterday morning. To be more precise, we had her put to sleep.She was a very loving rattie, very forgiving and affectionate. Whenever she started licking you, she would carry on for several minutes. It's as if your hand was part of her body, something that had to be groomed!
Twix had several problems. One, she was very overweight. Despite our best efforts, she just ballooned to the point where she would even be comfortable on her back, not normally a position rats are fond of!
But, by the end, Twix had lost a lot of that weight, and, as such, she wasn't comfortable on her back anymore. She was able to rest like a normal rat, but had trouble eating or moving about.
Two, she was riddled with tumors. Lumps on her side, in her abdomen, and, most devastatingly, one in her pituitary gland. She could not eat nor drink. Steroidal medications helped for a week or two, but ultimately, it was clear to us that she would not survive the ten days required to try another steroid.
During the last couple of days that we had her, she would gently bite us whenever one of us held her up to clean her. Previously, she would've just forcefully licked us. The biting told us that she was in a bad way.
She needed us to do what all pet owners are called upon to do. Part of keeping and loving an animal is to have the bravery to euthanize them. Squirrel and I have been through this more times than we care to talk about, but we do not lack the courage to say good-bye for good.
The rat in the background of the photo is Twix's natural sister, Crunchie, who is doing fine. So is their step-sister Gwen. Both are over two years old and still very active, all thanks to God.
We will miss Twix though. She was a unique character. We're grateful to her Creator that she at least made it past the two-year mark.
2 comments:
Sorry for your loss. :-/ At least Twix was loved.
Thanks, K. :-)
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