So... almost a month?

Yeah, it's been a while. Frank got published in It's A Rat's World Magazine and then he passed away from a pituitary tumor and resp infection.

*boggleboggle*

Athena's babies are a few days from being separated by sex. We got a new cage for some of our larger boys and I have been working more, it's fun.

That's pretty much where we are. :)

G'morning, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: Velveteen coats are sooo luxurious! Bear made cute, healthy, curious babies with Athena. :)

Lots of Babies and Rattery Update

First off, the Athena babies.

Without knowing, I got albinos! I hadn't realized that Bear and Athena were both albino carriers, so we have one standard albino and one teddy fur (single velveteen/teddy rex for some) albino.

The one girl we had as a runt is doing perfectly now. I fed her some soy baby formula a few days ago to get some calories in her and since then she's been able to get enough food and now she's just as big as her siblings. Her name is Solace, and she's a sweetie-pie.

As of right now they are eleven days old and thriving.

Rattery Update:

Ben and I talked it over and we came to the decision that for right now, until we have established lines that we know are healthy, we're going to be a primarily private rattery meaning that we will not adopt to the public, but we will still be breeding. We're moving down to two litters per year to make it easier as far as size and because selective breeding for traits like health is far easier to do when you're working with a smaller group at more infrequent breeding cycles. So May and October will be breeding months and everything between those months will be focused on rat loving and observation of out babies.

We're really excited and the main reason for the change was the fact that we are slightly over-crowded and we need to cut down on that for the sake of the ratties first and foremost and for the fact that being a new rattery my lines are not established so I can't tell someone what the traits would be and I certainly cannot put a guarantee on health yet. So, until I can, the rattery is private and will be slowing down the breeding pace.

G'mornin, g'night and g'day

Afterthought: What is that one thing that sets rats apart from other pets?

Babeh Update

Athena walked away from the nest for a few moments for food, her box and some water. While she was "away" I took a quick peek at the babies, Athena's very sweet and docile, not even nipping at me. She's sniffing and nosing me, but not much else. So we have eleven babies from Athena which makes the largest litter of the year! Did a quick gender check, may not be completely accurate but it looks like we have five female and six males.

I'm really excited to see them grow up. :)

Pretty much what we're looking at for colors in this litter in terms of genes are:


Expressed (what we'll see physically):

100% Non-Agouti (no ticked hairs, black rat vs agouti rat or beige vs fawn when there is a red eye dilute)
100% Top-ear
50% Blue
50% Standard coat
50% Teddy Curl (single velveteen, fluffy, thick fur that is very soft and wavy rather than curly, short and rough like a rex)
Markings will be variegated and varieberk as well as the possibility for BEW, mis-marked and masked marking and capped and bareback markings.

Carried (we won't see this physically but if bred to others with similar genes this is what they'll pass on):

100% Mink
50% Red-eye
50% Blue

Pretty much what this amounts to is:

100% CUTE BABY RATS!

Anyway, we'll see you later round here with pictures galore :)

G'mornin', g'night or g'day

Afterthought: You get what you breed and Athena and Bear are two of the sweetest and healthiest rats that own us. We look forward to having cute little faces like these to keep us company and love us for the rest of our lives. :)

So Many Babies!

Athena just finished giving birth.. good Lord, so many babies. :) I knew she'd swollen with quite a few little ones.. but my oh my I had no idea we'd get this many. She was in labor for nearly two hours, babies spaced a little less than 10 minutes apart. I don't know an exact count yet, but I know we have more than eight. So far, she's really docile when it comes to me being near the babies. I'm so proud of my Athena! I woke up and Ben had checked first thing when he woke. He comes running to me and told me she was giving birth. She's such a sweetie. Good job Athena! Momma's proud! We're gonna see what genders we have as well as getting first pictures late tonight or  early tomorrow. :)

<:3~~

Babehs!

Athena is due to give birth any time between now and Sunday. Last litter of the year! Yay! The next litter of the new year will be done sometime in February or March and after that there will be a litter once every 3 or four months.

I haven't updated a lot lately, but I've been busy and Ben's been busy and I start a new job tomorrow! Yay! Well, to make up for lost time, here's a conga line of wet, male rats.

G'mornin, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: What do you do when you're mad about taking a bath? Well, if you're my rats.. you start a conga line while pretending that you'll be mad at me wen it's all over.

Story Time

It's nearly four am. I was in bed, I couldn't sleep. I got out of bed, I crocheted a bit and now I want to go back to bed. No, that isn't all of the story. Just most of it, heh. I took pictures of the babies today, and I will now post some for your viewing pleasure.

King Henry VIII

King Louis XVI

Huh? Oh hai.

Clover and Fée

Reia - available for adoption

Salt's attempt at escape

We glare at you, Daddy!

Sleepy during Daddy's pictures.

Lace (L) and Duchess (R)

Aurora

Alice

Gem - Available for adoption

Salt and Lana - Lana is available for adoption

Reia (bottom) and Coriander (top) - both available for adoption

Aphrodite

Lydia

Oh hai, Momma!

Ginny, the ham :)

Jannicke (yah-NECK-uh)

Winnie

Precious

Clover <3

Theresa

 

 

 

 

Good everything

Afterthought: I have to stay awake later... today *discombobulated sigh*

Four am is not a suitable time to go to bed...

Four.. a-frack-m. I am so tired that I feel like I could just fall asleep right where I am.. which is a public college campus with more than one things that costs over $100.. I am that tired.

Creedence Clearwater Revival's song "Looking Out My Back Door" is the most perfect song for right now. Any song with the line, "a dinosaur vitrola listenin' to Buck Owens" is worth a listen. Combine this with the fact that it was written about a man going home from work and being so exhausted that he may as well have been on LSD and, well, you see why I'm listening to it.

Ben and I went to our local Superpetz to find a cage, we found more. We found a Midwest Critter Nation bi-level cage, which is epic in of itself but we also found Siamese rats. Let me say this again, we found Siamese rats in a PET STORE. I know some of you may immediately come off with, "too bad they'll die from pet shop diseases." To all of you, shut up. Now. You have no right to belittle me or my pets because they are rescues from feeder bins.

This is something that constantly annoys me about the rat fancy. There is prejudice against rats from pet stores and there is prejudice against novice breeders. Admittedly I can see the latter because very few people stick with it because there is no money to be made in this world if you're breeding properly and for the right reasons. I should know, not because I am a novice breeder, but because I lived with someone who ran a rat mill in Phoenix AZ. They thought they could make money with the rats, but you can't. It won't happen.

But rats from pet stores? How is it their fault, I know you say you blame the store not the animal but you would not believe the crap I've seen people say when someone says something about their rat being from a pet store. Many people are scarily quick to say, "oh don't bother with pet stores, those rats are no good." Are you kidding me? What makes your pet better than mine? A pedigree? Hate to break this to you but the reason I go to good pet stores is because all of the breeders in my area are crap, they are worse than the pet stores. At least the woman closest to me is.

We rescued two boys from Petsmart yesterday, one of whom, Henry, had been in the store for months with barely anyone playing with him and he was over one year old. He didn't have a cage-mate. I couldn't leave him in the store to die alone. So we bought him and Louis, as well as buying them their own cage.

Henry was incredibly skiddish and is still a bit cautious of us and Louis has been adapting well. The girl working in the store that helped us get Henry was telling us that she was the only one playing with him because no one really considers the rats. It's so sad because he is a great squish and very loving.

I know a lot of people don't discriminate, but some do and it bothers me. We always harp on how you should always treat people equally and when one person says one thing that isn't politically correct lawyers start frothing at the mouth because they can smell the impending lawsuit. Yet when someone turns away what could have been their perfect pet for being from a rescue organization or because the rat is from a pet store and not a breeder.. a lot of people accept it.

I don't know, I needed to rant. Feeling nauseated and tired and grumpy. I'm a grumpalumpalous. Ben'll love it. :)

G'mornin, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: Rescue animals are by far the most endearing, appreciative and loyal animals I have ever had the pleasure of sharing my life with. They know what it's like to go without and when you adopt them and love them, they never forget it.

Iris, we'll miss your bloom

Iris passed away a few days ago, we don't know why. She had diarrhea but never stopped eating and drinking and didn't stop being active. She never appeared to be in pain and wasn't too stressed. She became too weak to beat the illness, so we made the decision to put her to sleep. As she was passing to the Bridge she began to run where she lay on her side. This is how I choose to remember her, always full of life, and always loving.

We'll miss you beautiful. Tell the others hi for us and keep everyone happy until we see them.

Insanity Abounds

I haven't posted in nearly two weeks, I apologize. We haven't been able to connect to the internet where I live because for some reason a modem that worked perfectly fine before is now having issues and won't work for my laptop... but will still work for the PS3, explain that. Anyway, Ben and I have had a few calamities the past month, including being out of a car temporarily until we get the tire repaired and my job screwing us over.

Ben and I would have had the same job with CPI Corp. at PictureMe Portrait Studios, except they require that you make them your number one scheduling priority. Ben has school, he's a full time student and if he isn't then he cannot receive his GI Bill. Well, he was going to be starting work last Friday at one of the company locations near to where we live. I told him that the policy for scheduling is that whatever else you do cannot interfere with however they would schedule you. If it does they reserve the right to fire you. No, I'm not kidding. If you have a second job or go to school you have to make sure they know and that you never have to request a schedule change. So, anyway, the district manager calls him on Friday from a different location than the one she told him he needed to be and says, "unless there was a misunderstanding, you're supposed to be in today." He tries to politely explain that he cannot work for the company if he's going to school at the same time, there won't be enough time for one or the other.

Then she tries to fire him as he's quitting.

Our car is unable to be driven because even though we have all four tires we only have two bolts and lugs on one wheel, meaning that it is unsafe to drive. So, I'd been needing to get rides from friends and family and on Saturday I knew I'd be late, so I told my manager the night before. Well, I couldn't get a ride, no one was available. I called and told her this (by this point I don't even want to work there anyway), and she said she'd call me back when something was figured out. She never called me back, so I call back at 6:45, roughly fifteen minutes before close because by then they shouldn't have much business and things should be calm. The manager says things so quickly I cannot understand, but what I do catch is that they cannot reschedule me for two more weeks. I gave them plenty of notice and technically this would qualify as an emergency yet, because of something about my training, I'm being suspended for two weeks. Yeah, I'm looking for another job this is ridiculous.

Anyway, Algernon's babies are very well, they're 17 days old and cute as all heck. The boy I'm keeping has been named Galahad. It's so funny, I couldn't figure out what to name him and I was consulting with Ben for advice and he said Galahad. The little guy starts bruxing and kissing me! I took that as a yes :)

G'mornin, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: "Use words like just, nearly, only or a difference of  to make prices seem smaller than they actually are." That is in one of their training videos.

Ratty Sniff: Camarattery

 Ratty Sniff will be a series I'll be doing on any rattery I happen to come across that catches my attention. Either for the right or wrong reasons. Once I'm done with an overall evaluation, I'll be grading them on an F to A scale based on the Rat Adoption Guidelines that were listed out in a previous blog. It will be a simple positive/plus (+) or negative/minus (-) on each area of the list and depending on how well they score, they'll receive a grade accordingly. In the case of unknown information (unk) I'll count it as a negative/minus score as that information should be available on their site most of the time.




Okay, let's get back into the groove of things, yeah? When I first started to do really in depth research on rats and ratteries around the country this was one that I cam across. My first impression: Arrogant. My second impression: Has reason to be. That and with my personality a first impression isn't always what lasts. I like to look at things two or three times before I make an actual judgement. It's what I feel is fair if I'm skeptical about something. So, while reading through the site over the past few days I've discovered that my initial impression was wrong and right at the same time. Right because yeah, the text does come off as arrogant. Wrong because this rattery has accomplished a lot and just plain text is not effective in conveying tone of voice (this is why we need a sarcasm font).


So, without further ado, let's start sniffing for treats around Camarattery based Southwest Denver, CO. By the way Cama, I see what you did there, haha.


The first thing you'll see on this site is the logo and a cute baby rat in a sleepy hat. The second thing, well organized links! It isn't a necessity for a rattery to have a website in my opinion, at least not a custom domain, but when they do, they should at least try to organize well. That was one thing I loved about Ravencharm's site in the previous Ratty Sniff. She makes it impossible to get lost on the site. Right on the front page at Cama is the story of how she started. She talks about starting a rattery in Colorado in a time when there were very few good breeders out there. Cama is the founder of the Colorado Rat List and the Association of Colorado Rat Enthusiasts which is partnered with AFRMA. Amy, the founder of Cama also judges at rat shows.


The specializations are few, self and downunder hooded with a blaze. For anyone curious, downunder rats are incredibly rare in the US as they originated in Australia (hence "down under") and down under simply means that the rats back markings are mirrored on their underside. Variegated back begets variegated belly and so on and so forth. While the specializations are few she does have many lines, all of which have dwarf incorporated. I would normally go off on a tangent about hairless rats, except in this case because of the fact that Amy has been breeding for over a decade and should have enough experience (hopefully) to know when an animal isn't healthy. There is a quote on the site that, "you get what you breed." It's true and this is why I won't throw a hissy fit like I normally would. I throw a hissy fit about irresponsible breeders that are breeding hairless (and length of breeding career does not determine whether a breeder is responsible or not, it's about practices). Same thing follows for the manx, if she didn't have the ten plus generations of rats and the twenty plus years breeding, I'd be far more uneasy about it.


The reason she doesn't count many of her lines as a specialty is because they aren't something she's worked with long enough to be a good representation of her rats.


She mentions diets and says she uses Harlan Teklad blocks for her rats as well as another dry mix. My huge problem with the mix is that it has raw peanuts in it which can cause massive health issues in rats. 


She breeds dumbo and top eared, rex, velveteen, standard, hairless and silk coats (although the velveteen being listed with the same gene as rex is a pet peeve of mine). She breeds blues and russian blues. She breeds damn near everything including roan, which is pretty impressive to a new breeder like myself. My first impression was that the breeder was arrogant, but when I read through the words on the site I realize that a bit of my first impression was wrong. She does admit that there are things she doesn't know, but when she does know about something she lets people know. She still works with breeders and with AFRMA actively and even states in the nursery pages what she is looking for in the stages of breeding for a line. From health to conformation to temperament, she works on them in stages with health first and foremost in her efforts.


Before we move on let me quickly explain why I get peeved with people listing a velveteen rat (Cu/-) as a rex (Re/-). It's the same reason I have an issue with AFRMA listing Russian blues (rb/rb) as regular blues (d/d) genetically. Rexes are known for a few things, the biggest is the curl in their coat and lack of guard hairs as well as very curly whiskers. If you feel a rex coat it will feel coarse and will be very short, so short than you can see the skin under their coat and in double rexes they will look almost hairless. A velveteen is very different frm a rex in all of these aspects. Velveteen coats are long, thick and fluffy with wavy guard hairs. The whiskers do not have a curl, more of a wave. I own five velveteen rats and have owned one single rex, there is a significant difference. So much so that when I list my rats genetics in order to do litter predictions, those five that the theoretical Cu label instead of the established Re label rexes have. The differences are so vast that in my opinion from experience and research these coat types are not caused by the same gene.


She has at-home pickup hours clearly stated and tells why she won't hold specific babies and why people cannot come to "preview" her litters. The reason she has specific pickup hours is because the rest of her time goes to family, which is something I can respect a great deal.


So, let's see how she compares to our previous sniffs. Look here for reference.


1. +
2. +
3. +
4. +
5. +
6. +
7. +
8. +
9. +
10. +
11. +
12. +
13. +


100% A




Afterthought: Like I said, when I first came across this breeder, I thought she was very arrogant, upon further inspection, I realize that she has a bit of reason to be, but she really isn't. Confusing, yeah? She is very thorough in her lines and will openly admit that she doesn't know everything and that her lines are a work in progress. She's responsible and scrupulous in her practices which is something I can greatly respect.


*Amy contacted me and gave me the missing information. It seems that she does not adopt to anyone who does not agree to give back her rats if they cannot take care of them. She also guarantees a full refund or a replacement at the discretion of the adopter.

A Sad Day

Amid all the joy of starting a new job and having newborn rats, we also had a bit of tragedy. Our boy Dumble suffered a thrombotic stroke. He passed away this morning. We will always miss the biggest rat of them all.

When we got Dumble I first thought that maybe he was a domesticated black rat, being that he had a long tail and large eyes and ears. He was also small for his age. Come to find out through investigation that he was a dwarf rat. Ben and I have been so lucky with all of our rats and the milestones we've come across in pet stores. Dumble was not an exception, neither was his brother, Zeus. We always made silly jokes about Dumble being small then replying with, "I's not little! I'm just as big as any other rat! I take you on!"

He had that personality, always so bright and animated. Even near the end of his life he kept eating and drinking. After all, he was just as big as any other rat, he could take this on.

I'll miss him so much, I know Ben will. I showed him the picture above and he cried the entire time reading it. We've lost a light, but we still have so many more.

We'll miss you big guy. You were bigger than any other rat, never forget that.

More and more and more...

Until I start me new job on thursday as a photographer, I'll be sitting here at home.. doing anything I can to stay occupied. So, I realized that word of mouth doesn't spread that fast if no mouths have words. So, I created a facebook page for the rattery. This will make it easier for people who want to adopt to contact me and for those who have already adopted to keep me up-to-date on their new loves.

The information packet should be finished in time for the first litter to be adopted out. It will have information on food, housing, health and behavior as well as a few other fun things. I'm really excited. As I said in a blog post a while back, I want to be the kind of breeder I'd feel comfortable adopting from and I am damn picky about breeders. I'm planning on finding another breeder in the listing on NFRS or AFRMA for a Ratty Sniff here soon.

I have a new email related to rats if anyone were to have questions or comments:
squeaks_gigglesrats@yahoo.com

G'mornin, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: Sleepy rats are cute ^_^

Breeding, it hath begun

Okay, so Fée's litter is thirteen days old and Ben and I have already picked out the two we'll be keeping. Ear canals have opened and eyes should follow shortly. I'm at Ben's school right now, listening to music and reading online. You may or may not recall a post I had a while back, the first Ratty Sniff in which I gave a local breeder a very low grade. I paid a new visit to her site and I am still just as unimpressed as I was months ago.

I feel I should go a little further into the reasoning as to why I feel hairless rats should not be bred. There is a term in breeding that every breeder dreads. Infanticide, and it means the killing of an infant. Mother rats will sometimes do this to their own or other female's litters. One reason for doing it to their own is a lack of food, a lot of stress and even accidents. Sometimes a part of a litter or a whole litter can be killed if the female is having issues with lactation. She will kill off any bit of the litter she cannot support, it's about the same reason she'll kill babies in a food shortage, less hungry mouths and a healthier mother to feed the rest of the litter. All that being said, hairless females are notorious for lactation issues and there have been cases in which a hairless female has killed part or all of her litter due to this issue.

Rats in the wild have hair. They are supposed to have hair and tails and messing with their genetics like this is dangerous. Now I can see the immediate rebuttal, "isn't breeding messing with genetics, I mean, you're breeding to go for a certain thing in the babies." Big difference here is that when I breed rats it's because the parents have great health and personalities. Another rebuttal, "but people change things in dogs all the time and dogs are just fine." Well, sometimes. In some breeds we've focused too much on what a pretty dog is and less on what a healthy dog is. Also, the genetics of the canidae family of animals has something unique in their genetic make up. Malleability. They have a special area of their genome, called a tandem repeat, that allows for great changes through selective breeding. The canidae family is the only family of animals known to have such genetic versatility. That is why when you breed dogs you can get down right creative with them. They have the genetic ability to change in such huge ways.

Rats simply don't and messing with things that are hardwired into their genes can really screw things up. Tailless rats can have back and leg issues, can be born with partial tails and other deformities. Hairless rats have very sensitive skin and cannot handle temperature changes as well as rats with hair.

On the thought of temperature change, on her site she has a memorial section for those she's lost. Two rats passed away from heat stroke because her air conditioner went out. I'm not usually one to judge someone who's lost a pet like that, let alone two. I've lost rats in quick succession then been left wondering what I did or didn't do only to ultimately come to accept there was nothing I could have done. Persephone was one of the hardest lessons learned there. But heat stroke? That could have been prevented. So easily prevented. Give them a bath, give them some ice (frozen fruit juice is a wonder), give them frozen veggies, given them SOMETHING. Anything! Those animals did not have to die! I've experienced loss with rats, it sucks, it hurts, I cry and cry and for a lot of them I still cry so long after they've gone. But I lost every one of them to an illness of some kind, something I really couldn't control. If my AC went out in the middle of June, I'd be freezing water non-stop, I'd have my ice-brace out for them and I'd give them all a bath if need be. But good God, heat stroke is a horrible way to die. She's a stay at home wife as well, she was there and could have done something, this is inexcusable to me.

*sigh*

Anyway, on to happier things. Algernon had her litter yesterday, 6 healthy pinkies that once I'm home I'll be sexing to see the ratio of girls to boys. She had a pretty easy birth from what I can tell, though I thought she'd have had more. But, it doesn't matter, she's been such a good girl! She's more aggressive than Fée, I can stick my hand right into the nest with her and all she does is glare. Each rat is different and I cannot wait to see the beautiful babies grow up! If all goes well I may breed Athena this November or December. If I don't then I'll not be breeding her, as she'll be too old by then. It won't affect my view of her in any way, she's still my mad minky mischief. :)

Mr. Coffey

Miss Alexa

G'mornin, g'day or g'night

Afterthought: What do you feed your rats? We're switching all of our babies to human food like frozen and fresh veggies/fruits. :)

Oh my goodness!

Okay, so we've rescued a few more babies from pet shops. One being my little Aurora, who loves me more than I can describe. She becomes a popcorn rat when I'm near the aquarium! She looks at me with those big, red eyes and I just can't help but smile. They're beautiful, the pearly sheen on them is so intense and mesmerizing (which is a word I hate using, but it fits). We also have Belle, who is so small you'd think she was a mouse! Ginny rounds out the new girls (yes, like the Weasely's Ginny, it would have been Neville had I not rechecked to see that she was not a he). Well we have new boys too, Sugar, Gambit, Hidalgo and Beast.

Okay, so, we're up to date on babies. Now, Lace, yesterday she escaped and was found.. all before 11 am (I was tired and fell asleep on the couch... why do I still go to sleep at 2 am.. I know what'll happen!) and when Ben found her she was cuddling a giant plush flu virus behind our computer desk. So, we go to bed last night thinking we'd secured the grotto well enough... apparently not. Ben is woken up at six am (man, she is such a morning person!) by Lace crawling on his head, licking his nose. Now, this rat could have gone anywhere and knowing that she'd escaped, anyone else could have, obviously. So, Ben picks her up, takes her back to the grotto and makes sure none of the other girlies have escaped. No, four of the remaining six are playing in the end Lace escaped from! They look at Ben, then continue playing. It was kind of like, "oh, you brought her back... okay!" So before we left today for me to hang out with him at school, he made sure his provisions from six am were still escape proof. They were, and Lace was giving him the death glare (pictured is Fée in the nest the day she gave birth). So we went ahead and left, she's probably still angry and Aurora is probably still hopping like mad wondering when I'll be back.

What can I say? I'm blessed. :)

G'mornin. g'night or g'day

Afterthought: Athena and Bear will be my next pairing, looking forward to seeing what we get (especially from such healthy parents!)

Babies!

This is a belated post, and I need to take photos of the babies now that they are 3 days old and have peach fuzz. I also need to take photos of our new rescues. Until then, have these :)

Fée nesting with the babies the day they were born

Two days old and we have seven, one boy and six girls.

Yep, only one boy! We're keeping him and one other girl (at the very least) and we're really excited. We were holding Fée late into the morning just before she gave birth and we're seeing and feeling the pinkies move (gently of course) and one kicks Ben. It was so crazy. We're only adopting to friends and family for this first litter. We'll have all agouti based and some blues if I'm not mistaken.

Speaking of crazy, Ben and I both have jobs.. for the same company. Different districts, but it's still really awesome. We also cleaned up the living room today. Man, I didn't think we had so much stuff to just throw away! But, anyway, the babies are organized in a much better way now and we have a clean floor and more open space in our living room! Happy day!

Haha, anyway, pictures will be taken and updates will be given. 

G'mornin, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: RAT PINKIES WITH PEACH FUZZ AND CUTE HEAD SPOTS!

"Orchid"

We saw a little one

Not so long ago from today

She said she lost a family

When they were taken far away

She was fearful of the giants

Who grabbed her from her home

But they also took her sister

So she wouldn't be alone

Her sister ran away

Causing the giants to worry

But with a laugh and some tears

The giants reunited them in a hurry

They found out from the blind girl

And the leader with odd eyes

The giants were their best friends

And they gave the others brand new lives

The days went by quickly

And the soon-to-be mother moved away

But the giants were always with the sisters

More than willing to play

Today, she met some new ones

And her friend became a mother

But she soon found out that some of her new friends

Were not like the others

Only one of the new was confused

The rest of them felt at home

As the told her of the giants

And how they gave each of them a home

The oldest was Demeter,

Persephone next to her sis

Along with a great singer

The giants had named Artemis

Next to her was Hermione

Who was a wonder to behold

She said she used to have three paws

But the forth came for her to hold

There were two boys with them

A knight named Bumblebee

And with him was his best friend

Who the male giant named Dobby

He was a sweet boy too

With a sock on his tail

He made Bumblebee feel at home

And his bravery prevailed

Most tragic was but a baby,

Who appeared to her last

Her name was Velvet

Who showed up before she passed

She asked why Velvet didn't sing

When the others watched her fade

Velvet replied, a tear in her eye

"I was to young to learn the song they played

"But there is something you must know

The giants love use more than words can say

We came here to guide you to the Rainbow Bridge

Where we will laugh and play

"One day they will find us

But until that day

We will be here for them and the others

When their souls can no longer stay

"There is one thing I must ask

Before we go to play,"

She smiled sadly then she said

"Surely the giants gave you a name!"

She looked at her new friends and smiled

"Yes, you're right they did

It took them a little while

But the named me Orchid"

We said goodbye to a little one

Not so long ago today

She has new friends, but with them she waits

Until we will all meet again someday.

Goodbye, Orchid. We love you and will miss you and the other babies more than words can say.

Ben

Ohhhh my!

So, funny thing... my boyfriend's ISP told me I couldn't connect my laptop with a hardwire connection to the internet (non-wifi [ethernet/usb]) because I didn't have an ethernet port. Mind you, my laptop manufacturer was telling them this so hopefully you see the potential for BS in that situation. Now, I'm not saying that the company who made the laptop, let's call them Pell, would give inaccurate information on the machine. They cannot legally or they will be facing a class action lawsuit over false advertising quicker than the time it would take for a poorly made apology to be published in emails everywhere. What I'm saying is that they won't advertise the loopholes, they'd lose money. My laptop comes with an extra piece of equipment that I can buy for a convenient $100 that would allow me to hook up to the home modem with ethernet.. and take away the internet to the systems. Brilliant. So I realized that Ben's printer cable just so happens to be the perfect size and shape for the modem. I hook it up, awesome things happen, it fits but then I'm left with my laptop staring at me like an idiot asking me why I'd plug in a cable from a device for which it has no drivers. Well, I can go online and download the drivers easily! I can.. go.. onli-SUNNUVAFRACKINBATCH! So, you can see the dilemma, I hope. If you have no idea what I just said I'll translate.

NOTE: If you understand how to set up a home network or understand the terms hardwire, bluetooth and wifi, then ignore the next full paragraph.
For internet access in your home you need a device called a modem, it uses a phone or cable line to give you access to well, stuff like this and youtube and facebook. This device has different cables one of the most important being an ethernet cable. This takes the connection the modem has and gives it to your computer, gaming system or what have you so that you can surf the internet. If you don't have an ethernet or the thing that needs internet doesn't have the jack for it, then you can turn to a USB cable in most cases, it does the same thing as the ethernet, just with a different shape. It's kind of like watching a DVD on your tv versus on your computer, they do the same thing, just in different ways. Well, anything you plug into your computer via USB has to have something called a driver, what this does is tell your computer what this foreign object being shoved into it's system is and then tells it not to ruin itself or the object or, in most cases, to simply react to the device. Cross reference time: you have a lock, one that uses a key of a specific shape, as all key-locks do. You have a key blank, it has no ridges or anything. Well, when you try to insert it into the lock, a few things will happen (key won't go in, key goes in but just sits there wondering what it's supposed to do) that lead to the same result, you're not getting the lock open. Now imagine you have a locksmith's kit that allows you to make keys. You take the putty from the kit and make the shape of the lock's insides and then file the key blank to match. That's kind of what a driver does in a round about way for a USB device, it's a key of sorts to getting the system and device to work together.
NOTE: Pay attention now :)

Okay, now we are hopefully caught up and you can see what's going on. I didn't have a way to access the internet to get the drivers for the modem so I could get to the internet. Well, I finally decided not to fight futility. I hopped off the laptop. Fast-forward a day or two and Ben and I are at our friend's house playing games and eating yummy foods. Near the end of the night I realized something. I have internet access! So, as quickly as possible I download the driver and make sure it's what I need. It is. Okay, we're set. So we go home and I'm trying to install drivers on my computer. It says something like, "LOLNOPE" and I'm stuck. What do I do, what aren't I doing? I go through a few different routes of installation and finally go straight to grass-roots, the Device Manager. I click on the USB modem and let the system do it's thing. I now have a hardwire internet connection to my laptop when I was told by the IT guy of a major ISP that I couldn't do it. Vindication.

Also, the guy was creepy, he tried to flirt with me while I'm discussing the details of my BOYFRIEND's account. Yeah, real classy.

Ugh, anyway, that aside, Fée is remarkably pregnant. I am predicting a litter of at least 8 kittens. She should give birth any day now, or rather night since it's more likely to happen at 1-3 am. I'm also writing in my rat journal. When I get life together I'm hopefully going to be able to start college. I'll definitely go for genetics and immunology. It's fascinating and absolutely fun to think about and mess around with on paper. I love it so much. I can't wait to make this a life. :)

Something interesting though, for the college I'm going to attend the degree I want specifically requires calculus. Well, the university has a degree in which you work with a student adviser and make your own major (which I am considering) but seriously, calculus. I have a friend who is a computer programmer who while in college his calculus teacher told him that they would never use calculus. He uses code, his just happens to be in a computer. Geneticists use code as well, it just happens to be in a living being. What did I miss? Why is calculus in that course requirement list? I told Ben when I read that list that I would gladly take five college algebra classes in order to avoid calc. I seriously cannot see how business calc or just regular calc could in any way help make my job easier. Maybe someone out there who has a job in the field I'm seeking would be able to tell me. I cannot see it.

Halloween is coming up. I have no clue what I'll be doing. Meh, we'll see what seems interesting. Lord knows I have enough make up to throw my own zombie walk.

Anyway, that's what's been up. Sorry posts have been infrequent. I'll now be in the process of trying to get back in my writing groove.

G'mornin, g'day or g'night

Afterthought: Why do large companies want to screw everyone?

Fée - A French Love Story

There she was, in the pale white sheen of the halogen lights far above her. She was a prisoner of a high-walled home of glass. Her prison-mates sat with her through meal-time, chewing disgustedly on bricks of dried gruel. How could anyone eat this? The quality of life miserable. Across the way she could hear more of her kind being taken away to be used in cold-blooded murder plots. She was safe from a fate such as that, she had a unique trait that differentiated her and made her beautiful. Along with the buying of her people there were many large beasts that were for sale of all shapes and sizes, perhaps being used as slaves. For all she could see there was so much more she couldn't. In the cell right next to hers and her companions were people whom people labeled pigs. She feared for her life at this point. She knew nothing of the world outside her cell.

Many faces came in and passed by, paying little attention to her, she didn't know if this comforted her or discouraged her. She knew many of her companions longed for days with people whom they could trust, people who would treat them well and give them wonderful and delicious food to eat with new friends in a new home. She hated the cell in which she was confined. She had no freedom and the only true shelter she could enjoy was small and crowding everyone into it would have been nigh impossible.

Yet, through all of this turmoil, she had love. Through all of the hardships and horror of her prison, she had managed to find that one true soul mate in whom she could confide and trust. His name was Nathan Drake, and if she could help it, she would never leave him behind. One day, so shortly after they had wed and began their family, Fée was bought. She was just pregnant, and no one knew, and here she was, being bought. The ones who took her also took people from across the way, the ones that are normally sold for cold-blooded power. She was welcomes into their home, given friends and food, a wonderful place to live and many great things. But she didn't have Drake, her wonderful Nathan Drake had to be left behind.

In that first night there was a casualty within her new home. A very small girl that had been purchased with her tried to get out and explore. She was fatally injured in the process. When her keepers woke they seemed terribly distraught, so much so as to give her a funeral and proper disposal of her body. She spoke of trying to keep beasts away so that they wouldn't be able to defile it. Her keepers left post-haste to her old prison to rescue more of her companions.

She began speaking to the others, asking how well the keepers treated them. A young woman with curious eyes told her about a woman who'd recently passed that was missing a foot, but that they took care of and loved regardless.

"When Hermione took ill, they gave her medicine and tried to keep her alive, they feel terribly that she didn't make it. There's also a boy over there," she gestured to the other side of the divide, "he has a malformed mouth, so they take special care to make sure he can eat."

Fée felt more at ease now, knowing that when she had her children they would be well taken care of. She still worried over the heart of her poor Drake. When her new keepers returned they a surprise in a transport carrier. Drake! Nathan Drake! Her heart leaped for joy, even if she couldn't be with him in the same home, she was with him nonetheless.

Fin

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Yeah, Fée is pregnant. Due any day now... Ben and I are excited. I am also a little crazy, this seemed like the best idea for how to express this.

G'mornin, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: Unless I'd told you it was about a rat, would you have known?

Dear Mac Laptop

Thanks for dying. -_-

Ben and I don't have internet at our apartment right now. The only way I'll be able to post is from his college, which fortunately has free wifi. Slow, but free. So, until he and i are able to regain internet access, hopefully with the purchase of a router, the posts may be few and far between. Money situation is insane, I'm looking for a job, so let's hope someone decides it'll be awesome to hire me. Until then, enjoy this as compensation.

G'mornin, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: Why are things made to break?

Iris, our new Houdini

So, this morning was... interesting. Ben comes into the room, fully dressed for the day and tells me Iris is missing. We spent the next half of our day trying to find her. She's a little sheepish and unlike Athena and Algernon, whom are allowed to roam freely when I think of it, she doesn't come just by having her name called. She also doesn't do what Athena does where if she gets stuck, she squeaks like mad to have Momma and Daddy rescue her from the evil couch.

So we spent the time trying to find her, wondering where she went and finally we thought that she may have gotten out and that we would never have her back. I was prepared to write that blog tonight. Luckily, I don't have to. Ben took a shower a little bit ago and when he went into the room to get dressed I heard the following, "no, no, no! It's okay, don't run away!" I immediately perked up and listened. He came out with Iris in his arms. She was spooked and I could understand. What's funnier is that a little bit earlier he noticed a tongue mark in the treat we put out to lure her. A mixture of honey, yogurt and peanut butter and I hadn't really thought that she was still in the house. I think more than anything I didn't want to get my hopes up.

So, Ben comes out holding our little escape artist and says, "do you know where I found her?" I didn't and then Ben answers, laughing, "in my underwear drawer!"

So, here I was, thinking she was gone forever and then there she is, like a sweet little mischief that I could never be mad at.

Before this incident we weren't able to pick her up easily, she was always a little skiddish. For the rest of the night Ben has been able to pick her up no problem. We put the rest of the bait mixture into the girls' grotto to let them celebrate the wonderful reunion of Iris with us.

In other news, I tried to play a practical joke on Bear and gave him a small chunk of pickle.

I never was a good practical joker. He took it, nibbled it for a second and just when I expected him to drag his mouth and glare, he snatched it from between the bars and ran away with it. He, Ares and Cream are insane. *sigh* I haven't broken it to them yet that they can't have too much of it or even have to it that often. Too much salt. Poor things, they'll be so heartbroken. *snicker*

G'mornin', g'night or g'day

Afterthought: Ben's first question upon having found Iris was, "how did you get in there?" I think we all know that feeling. :)

Milaea and the Girls' Grotto Project

When the tide came in
you were there with a
sparkle in your eyes

when they went out
you let me know of love
but you still said goodbye

I don't blame you or me
sometimes an angel
just has to fly

    Ō
͡͡ω(⌅)͡ω
  (i   i)     (I put way too much effort into this to be sane)

I wish I had an image for our little girl we lost after only having her for one day. It's still surprising at times just how well a rat can work her way into your heart. I cried and cried all that day, I still cry when I think of her and Dobby. Milaea is an alternate spelling for Meliah which means, "of the sea" and so I wrote that poem on a piece of paper and we laid her body with it in the box.

So, Ben and I knew we would have to find a larger home for our big group of girls. We were planning on finding a book shelf or other portable cabinet to build them a grotto so that we could move them there and move the boys to the largest cage. We'd recently moved Algernon and Athena to the boys' old cage and then moved the boys to the bird cage. Well, we were having no luck finding a shelf or cabinet that worked for us. We also don't have tons of money or time to be able to build from scratch or buy a custom. So, we're walking through our local walmart and we see the aisle with all the storage bins. I'm looking at them thinking that if we combined two of them we could make a grotto. I have a wood burning tool that I can also use to melt through plastic. This way the babies would have adequate ventilation. So that's what we went ahead and did as well as putting the bird cage top on top of the large rat cage. I secured it as well as a bit of felt (to protect their feet from the bars) with chain mail links that I have left over after taking an old collar apart.

Long story short, the boys are having a blast and the girls are as well. They have a tunnel made from PVC to get back and forth.

G'mornin, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: Have you ever bought a food for your rats that you wouldn't eat yourself? (Lab blocks and the like don't count)

I Am Such A Nerd

So... You can probably see the resemblance here, right? This is our new Dumbo Boy (and the oldest boy). He likes to explore, and he likes ladies. He had gotten two of his cage mates pregnant before we got him, and he loves sitting on my shoulder as I walk around. He's also very adventurous. For those reasons, we named him Nathan Drake.

What we didn't expect was how the other boys would take to him. Our two youngest, Zeus and Dumble, are who he protects from the evil forces of the cage moving, and Mommy and Daddy grabbing them. Bumblebee and him are like brothers, to the point where Bumblebee will get upset if he's out without Drake. Bear will play with him, but Drake, being bigger, will stop if he feels he's getting to rough. Bear will then take advantage of this, and tackle Drake.

I'm a nerd. I have rats named after musicians, Transformers, Redwall characters, Greek Mythology, and now a video game character. What's next, Cthulhu the Berkshire Rex?

Ben

Dobby is a free rat

Our wonderful little double rex blue agouti dumbo, Dobby passed away two days ago. We aren't sure what took him, but we do know that it was incredibly quick. He was fine Thursday, a little tired seeming but not sick in anyway we could notice. Friday we began to notice troubling signs, piloerection and lethargy as well as minor porphyrin production. The porphyrin came in such small amounts we don't even know if it was from the illness or from sleeping in excess, which I guess in that aspect it would be from illness.

We fed him antibiotics for two days and by the end of Saturday night he was losing fur around his neck. The image above is, unfortunately, one of the only few images we have. It was taken the night he died. He was so loving, giving kisses and yawns right up to the end when he used his sweet Dobby magic to travel to the bridge.

We will miss you Mr. Dobbs, always.

O.O So many days...

I am so sorry, Ben and I have been scrambling around and things have been hectic. I can't really say much right now, I'm too tired. I'll try to get back into the kick of things and blog a bit.

Again, sorry, things have been nuts.

Ratty Sniff: Ravencharm Rattery

 Ratty Sniff will be a series I'll be doing on any rattery I happen to come across that catches my attention. Either for the right or wrong reasons. Once I'm done with an overall evaluation, I'll be grading them on an F to A scale based on the Rat Adoption Guidelines that were listed out in a previous blog. It will be a simple positive/plus (+) or negative/minus (-) on each area of the list and depending on how well they score, they'll receive a grade accordingly. In the case of unknown information (unk) I'll count it as a negative/minus score as that information should be available on their site most of the time.


Okay, so during the initiation of the Ratty Sniff I was looking at another rattery that I wanted to review as well. This rattery impressed me throughout the entire time I was looking at the site. So, without further ado, here's Racencharm Rattery based out of Reno, Nevada.


Okay, so the first thing I noticed when I loaded her site was the fact that she had tabs that were right there, plain to see and very well organized. She also has a photo of the rattery sitting right at the front of the page as well. Which, if you live out of state, can be very handy to be able to look at online.


As I looked through her site I was impressed by the information that she gives so readily. That her goals are for health, temperament and conformation to show standards. A lot of times ideal conformation would worry me, but I get a sense that even if a rat isn't show perfect it doesn't mean that she won't love it, which is always important. She also states her ethics and guidelines right on the front page. She also links to the rattery which mentored her before she was given their breeding stock (the former breeder/owner had allergies that prevented her from continuing to breed).


She states when her does and bucks are bred (not before 8 months for does and not before 12 months for bucks). The only real complaint that I could have is the fact that she is a closed rattery, meaning that she does not allow people into the nursery. Not that she won't let them into her home, just her rat room. She does this for disease prevention in the colony. My opinion is that if you are concerned, ask adopters to wear fresh clothing, have them put plastic bags over their shoes and to tie back hair or put on a shower cap. People may complain, but it's about the health of the rats. Yeah, you may look silly for a a little bit, but it's a small price to pay to keep both the breeders colony and your new baby healthy and happy. She does, as stated before, have a photo of her rat room available right on her website. So far as I know you are allowed into her home, just not the main colony room itself. Which is an understandable precaution, but one that could be handled in other ways. It's up to the individual breeder in the end.


The only other thing that I would make a grievance about is the lack of a reimbursement plan being listed out on her site.


Another thing that absolutely impressed and I would even say floored me is that she has a recipe for homemade food mix on her site, with links to studies that explain why it is both corn and soy free.


Overall, she's gained my confidence in her ability to be responsible and trustworthy. So, grading time, let's see how she stacks up.


1. +
2. +
3. +
4. +
5. +
6. +
7. +
8. +
9. +
10. +
11. +
12. -
13. +


Grade: 92% A


Final Comment: There are small things that irk me personally, but overall the feel of the rattery and the website are enough to make me wish I had the ability to adopt from her. If you are around the Reno area and you are looking for a rat to adopt, I would recommend Ravencharm. She is what a good rattery is all about.


*Note: this may appear sort, it's also 1:30 am where I am right now, so I gave some quick highlights and a grade based on what I feel is important. The site is linked so that you can form your own opinion as well.

Come Skitter With Me, Come Skitter Away...

After Hermione passed (and a few others), there was a void left in the rats' homes. Aphrodite, Clover, and Winnie seem to take turns being dominate, Athena was depressed for a while until realizing that Algernon does (sometimes, at least) care about her, and we don't have our three pawed wonder, our singer, our two sweeties, and our young goof (Velvet passed this weekend due to a severe illness, at just past a month old). Being as emotional as I am, I've been taking it pretty hard.

We went up to Superpets again, to see if they'd finally started to sell their rat babies. This was the first one we saw: Frank Sinatra. He has a cleft palate (we think) and his teeth appear to grow out from the front of his head, and one grows normally. It's hard to see in this picture, but more will be coming soon. When we saw him, he was standing at the barriers, looking at the other rats, and wondering why no one would play with him. He started bruxing when I was petting him, but it took him a while to adjust to a new home.

We sent a welcoming committing for him, Ares, and Nova. Bumblebee and Dobby (who'll also have pics soon) immediately made friends with Frank, trying to get him to hide with them. He was the first to eat, and took up a habit when on my shoulder. He will grab the back of my neck, and try to steer me in the direction he wants me to go. He is a tiny sweetheart, with a similar personality to another special needs rat we had.

It isn't that we're gluttons for punishment. We know that he may not have as long as some of the others may have in life. But, here's the trick: doesn't he deserve a good life? Why should he punished because of his genetics? Isn't he just as loving and smart as any other rat? Don't take my word for it, though, look at the pic. He's bruxing!

Ben

Rat Tales

After Algernon and Athena were moved to the bird cage, they like running on the wheel all the more. Apparently, Aphrodite has picked up on this. She has a new habit, where she watches their wheel for them to run, then tries to run in her wheel, but faster. We don't have the heart to tell her that she isn't going to catch up.

In speaking of wheels, we had to take Algernon's and Athena's out, because they will not stop running when it's banging against the cage walls. Yesterday, Athena noticed that the door on top of the cage was open a little. She managed to push it open with her nose, climb to the boys' cage, and do what came natural. By natural, I mean natural to Athena. She tried to grab the base of the wheel in her mouth, and drag it with her. Bear and Cream still have no idea what she thought she was trying to do.

The little girls tend to have a system working. Clover is the groomer, Winnie is the "mother," and Aphrodite is the teacher. This is for better... and for worse. So far, Aphrodite has taught them how to alogroom Clover when she's not looking, and chewing on the bars when they want to play. On the other hand, she is teaching them how to be extremely "licky." She spent a good 15 minutes licking my face the other day, and now Cream is licking everyone.

In speaking of licking and grooming, Cream was grooming Dobby's neck last night. Apparently, he liked it, because he sat there, smiling, as Cream groomed away.

The big girls recently got new bedding, made of paper. Unfortunately, Algernon thought it best to take all of the paper to the "box tree house" to nest in. This has led to a few issues with safety. Algernon has tried to jump towards the hammock twice, landing on her head when Athena popped out to say, "Oh hai!" Athena didn't fair much better when she fell while climbing, landing on her head, and looking around for who ever pushed her off.

When I woke up today, Bumblebee was oddly hyper. Him and Cream were both jumping around, excited to see me. On the other hand, Bear was stuck under a piece of fabric, to the point that Dobby had to pull him out. Twice.

Mmm... Turian

Hi, my name is Cami Wetzel and I'm addicted to Mass Effect 2 and in specific Garrus. I've been playing for 35 hours and am about to go after the Reaper IFF. But it's all good, I got my sniper.

Okay, so that is not at all exaggerated. Ben got me playing Mass Effect 2 and I have a damn good femShep (if I do say so myself) and I am addicted to Garrus Vakarian. There's just something about him as a character, too much fun. That game is one of the main reason I haven't posted in a bit. I stay up til three a frackin m playing it, then I usually start playing it when I wake up. I'm just not used to a game being so fricken awesomely fun. Even when I die I want to continue. I don't know, it's just epic and I want to play Mass Effect 3 when it comes out next year. I have gotten so good a hacking. I have so many credits. I also have more palladium than upgrades to do for my guns. I'm almost always short on eezo, godthisgameissoAWESOME!

Enough of that. We have a new boy, and if I wasn't so distracted I'd take pictures. His name is Dobby, he's a blue agouti dumbo single rex and he's adorable! We were afraid for a while that Bumblebee wasn't gaining enough weight, but he's started to get better, especially after having gotten Dobby. I wish I could say the same for Velvet. Megacolon or megasophogus.. or both. She's so thin that I can count bones in her tail. I've been hand feeding her ensure, but at this point I don't think she'll make it. I just hope I can make her comfortable until she goes to the Bridge.We've had to isolate her to make sure she can't get any of the other babies sick. We're sure of the mega's right now, but we're not sure she doesn't have an infection. Her breath smells septic and... it's just hard. Ben and I hate losing babies. I think anyone does. When it doesn't phase them is when they don't deserve the animals in their care.

Speaking of which, I'm waiting for another day or so to see if I get a reply from the woman who runs this rattery in Michigan because if she doesn't reply to me I'm contacting her local humane society. I have quite a few issues with her. Least of which being her condescending attitude and total lack of regard for other people's views. Yes, I love rats, they are gorgeous animals and are very sweet and loving. But that doesn't mean that I don't think any other animal couldn't be like them, affectionate and beautiful. I don't know if she has a grudge against hamsters or what, but it seems she's done absolutely no research when she starts to lambast them.

Another issue I really cannot get over is the fact that on her home page, in the scrolling text she says that her breeding has hit some snags in the summer months. She sites "mishaps" for the reason she's lost entire litters. Excuse me? Mishaps. What kind of mishaps are costing your animals' health and the lives of these babies that you claim to love so much. One thing I find incredibly troubling is the lack of any information on her ethics in her site. I've said this multiple times, but you should not breed a doe more than three times in her life and not after the age of one year.

In her blog she talks about how she now knows why she hates to breed during the summer months. The does are overheating and losing their litters, either stillborn or being reabsorbed.

My question is, why aren't your does in air conditioning? Another thing that makes me more angry than almost anything else I've seen on her site is the fact that she accidently bred an 18 month old doe because she looks exactly like the younger doe. This is the equivalent of a 42 year old woman getting pregnant. The doe could have lost more than just her health. She says the only difference between them is size. I've seen photos of both does. Size would have been a great indicator as would, oh I don't know, the fact that the older doe's coat is slightly lighter from the silvering that comes with age. The doe had one baby boy, but with her age she should not have been bred. It shouldn't have been a matter of, "oh, shoulda looked harder, LOL"

I'm just losing my mind here I think. Oh well.

G'mornin, g'night or g'day

Afterthought: I'm Garrus Vakarian, and I love this rifle!

Persephone "Perdini"

Ben made this for me shortly after she passed. I found it ironic that I could make the ones for Artemis and Hermione but couldn't manage to make one for a rat that had bonded to me so well and so strongly. I remember writing a post when she got really sick the first time and we didn't think she'd live through the night. I was so heartbroken to think that my Baby. My Baby would be dead.

Well, the next morning she appeared to be fine.. like it was some sort of freak thing that happened but may not end up plaguing her anymore afterward. Then she'd get sick again and sneeze and be lethargic and all the while we're trying to figure out what it is. She'd then get better and we'd think the medication or changing the bedding or this and that had some miraculous effect. I bathed them a week ago and then two days later she had developed a large lump on her neck. It was a cyst. After that she got more lethargic until yesterday she fell asleep and never woke up.

Ben drew an angel in a box that we had originally planned on burying her in, but we changed our minds last minute and put her in something air tight that we could duct tape so now animals could get into it. So I cut the angel out as well as the lyrics he put on the box:

May angels lead you in
on sleepless roads
the sleepless go
may angels lead you in

I cried when I saw what he'd written. It was beautiful and just fit so well. Persephone, I will miss you, always. I will love you.. always. Paint me pretty pictures at the bridge, I'm sure Artemis will sing for you while you do.