in memory of Dustin...

[ratcreature]

I'm just back from having the vet put Dustin down. He started to have episodes where he ran around agitatedly with his muzzle gaping open and closed, making even worse breathing noises, as if he was suffocating, even though most of the time he merely slept or sat with labored breathing. And the vet confirmed that this is a sign that he couldn't breathe anymore, and that it was better to put him down. According to the vet his chest was also distended and harder than normal, so it might not have been just mycoplasma, but could have also been a tumor in the lung. In any case. I wouldn't have wanted him to suffocate slowly, the brief episodes were already horrible and heartbreaking to watch. I would have loved to keep him just a little while longer, but there was nothing to be done anymore.

He was a great rat. He wasn't the most cuddly rat, but he was very friendly and clever. When he was still healthy he almost always won the scuffles with his brother despite having been smaller and lighter, because he could do this wicked kickbox thing with his hindleg that Ben couldn't properly counter, a clear show of technique over brawn. And he was funny to watch, especially when he was sometimes unintentionally hilarious. Like, he loved to masturbate perched on some precarious position, so he'd sit on some rope or branch and lick himself, only to sometimes become so intent on it that he forgot that he was perched somewhere, and so of course he fell down just when he was about to get off and would be all flustered.


Dustin
31.7.2005 - 8.9.2006

Comments

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

*hugs* It's always hard, but I'm sure you did the right thing.

[ratcreature]

Thanks. *hugs back*

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry to hear this. He sounds like a really good rat. Please know that I am thinking of you.

[ratcreature]

Thanks. He was a good rat, just cursed with health problems early. :(

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear this, hon. It was much too soon.

{{hugs}}

[ratcreature]

Yeah, it was. I mean, rats are always short lived, but he didn't even get his second year. :(

[http://users.livejournal.com/__marcelo/]

My condolences. *hugs*

[ratcreature]

Thanks. *hugs back*

[basingstoke.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry. He's adorable. It's awful that rats have such a short life; they're such dear creatures.

[ratcreature]

Yeah. The hardest about keeping rats is that they don't live long in the first place and quite often even die early from some cancer or respiratory illnesses.

[ficbyzee.livejournal.com]

Oh, poor Dustin. *hugs you a lot* Losing a pet is really hard. I'm sorry.

[ratcreature]

Thanks. *hugs back*

[littlegreenworm.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

Today I will think of all the happy Dustin stories you've posted. I'm sorry to hear of your loss, but I respect your ability to do what was best for the friend you loved.

*more hugs*

[ratcreature]

Yeah, I try to remember the happy times when he had fun and wasn't sick as well, and tell myself that he had good times, even if his life wasn't long. *hugs back*

[sanj.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry -- between you and jacquez this week I'm thinking rats must be one of the easiest creatures to love, but the hardest to watch live, because they're so ephemeral.

[ratcreature]

Yeah, they are easy to love, and it is just sad that they die so soon. And Dustin died early even for a rat. He just had bad luck health-wise. :(

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry. :(

[ratcreature]

Thanks.

[brownbetty]

I'm really sorry to hear that. I've enjoyed hearing about your rats.

[ratcreature]

Thanks. You are likely to hear more about rats in the future, because I still have one surviving rat and since I hope that Ben will still live for a while I'm thinking about getting some new little rats to keep him company. Though I have to see about how to afford a new cage suitable for socializing foreign rats (my current one can't be separated into sections) and such, as they can be aggressive towards each other.

[catmoran.livejournal.com]

*hug* I'm so sorry.

[ratcreature]

Thanks. *hugs back*

[lanning.livejournal.com]

Aw, honey. *hugs you* I'm so sorry.

[ratcreature]

Thanks. *hugs back*

[jcalanthe]

Oh honey, I'm so sorry to hear this. Lots of sympathy.

[ratcreature]

Thanks. I try to keep in mind that he had a mostly happy life for a pet rat, even if it was short, and that it was the right thing to have him put down, rather than let him die slowly, but it was still hard to be with him while he was killed, and right now it just hurts a lot that he's gone forever. :(

[iamza.livejournal.com]

Oh, no. I'm so sorry. Best wishes

[ratcreature]

Thanks.

[red-eft.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so sorry. *hugs*

[ratcreature]

Thanks. *hugs back*

[meret.livejournal.com]

I'm so very sorry! *big hug*

[ratcreature]

Thanks. The sympathy really helped. *hugs back*