# RIP Baby



## Minky (Apr 4, 2013)

Baby was born in a house with over 200 hoarded animals, or she was born in the shelter shortly after the animals were confiscated. The first time I saw her was at the shelter in a little glass cube. She was the first rat to come up to me, stretching her body up and putting on a little show to get my attention. She was housed with an older rat - maybe her mother. I took them both home with me. 

In the car I got a better look at her - small and completely white with bright black eyes. I knew right away that her name was Baby; it couldn't be anything else. 

It turned out that she actually was a baby, because she grew quite a bit in the coming months. I noticed a small grey patch behind her left ear, and the faintest collar of grey spots. She never had a problem with megacolon which afflicts so many black-eyed white rats, and I think these small areas of pigment were the reason why. 

She was always mellow, even when she was young. And she was a Love Sponge. She would slide up alongside another rat that was being petted and work herself into the arrangement. Later, she took to melting in my hand when being petted, going totally limp and just soaking up the affection. She loved to be petted when she was sleeping in a hammock. Other rats would wake up and run looking for food, but Baby would always take pets over food. Not that she wasn't round and fat from indulging, but when given a choice she always took love. 

She had the most whiskers of any rat I've ever had, long wispy whiskers sticking up and out in every direction. She had the prettiest face, the sweetest little hands, and a pretty pink tail. She knew her name and would always come to me when I called her, ambling up full of sweetness to give kisses and get petted. 

I made the difficult decision to have her PTS upon learning that she had pneumonia and 2 tumors in her groin region, just months after having a large benign tumor removed from her side. I didn't want to put her through the stress of twice daily antibiotics and two months of nebulizing treatments, only to have her tumors grow to the point of discomfort. I chose to spare her all of this, and just say goodbye today. It was very hard. She was extremely special, dainty and awesome, one-of-a-kind, and I will always remember sweet little Baby rat. 






























<3 <3 <3 Baby Rat <3 <3 <3


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Oh what a precious cutie. She does indeed look like a Baby, what a squish and just adorable honey.


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## Roonel (Jan 27, 2014)

What a sweetie she was! My thoughts are with you.


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## Smarion0006 (Nov 13, 2014)

I am sorry for your loss. She was a beauty, and one the happiest rats I have ever seen. I hope your heart heals...


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