Sunday, March 11, 2007

A Better Place

On Wednesday, March 7th, Fat Rat crossed over. She was such a young rat, yet had endured so much: mites/lice, tumors, surgery, and, finally, pneumonia. Weeks of double doses of two antibiotics were not working, and it appeared to the vet that she had suffered a stroke as well. :-(

I remember how small and soft she was as a baby, so tiny she could sleep in her salad dish. She always enjoyed her food and loved getting treats. She wasn't as much into exercise as her adopted sister, but she was fit enough to take over and be the boss rat.

She was very sensitive, too. If I took her out of the cage, she would run back in then peer out, as if to say that she was her own person and will come out on her own terms. :-)

Her last days were spent suffering. All of her energy spent breathing. Still, at the end, she would brux when given avocado and Ensure.

It was so hard agreeing with the vet that the time had come. Tim had to do all the talking that day. Thankfully, it wasn't very much.


According to Death, whatever you believe the afterlife is like, is the afterlife you will have. I like that idea. If I believe hard enough I will see all my little girls again, running up to me and climbing into my lap for scratches and cuddles. And if I really believe, Tim will join us all there, too.