# Goodbye Pippin :( 2014-2017



## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Hmm, where do I even start? 

30 hours ago, my beloved Pippin was put to sleep. She was coping well but up until the last 3 days she really began having trouble walking and I knew I couldn't let her drag that monstrous tumour around any longer. 

She had lost a ton of weight and was visibly thin but heres the shocking thing: when I weighed her yesterday the scales read 470 grams. Last time I weighed her she was still a relatively healthy weight and the scales read 470 grams. This goes to show how rapidly this tumour was growing. The tumour was growing just as fast as she was losing fat and muscle, thus the number remained the same despite the obvious weightloss. If I had to estimate her lumps (all 6 of them) made up atleast a third of her total body weight and the biggest one had to be atleast 100 grams if not more. It was bigger than an egg.

Originally I was going to have her put down 2 weeks ago but by sheer coincidence, the same day I had to put my dog, Diesel down, it was sudden and unplanned. And I bailed out from shock. But in a way I'm glad I did because I got to spend another 3 weeks with her and her death was alot easier to cope with compared to Diesel.

Pippin was the sweetest rat on earth....well towards me that is. She did have a habit of biting other people but not once did she ever bite me. Like my mom would stick her fingers in the cage and she would chomp down then I would immediately stick my fingers in and she would lick them. She would jump onto my chest and lick my forehead for ages.
She was kind of like the protecter of the other rats. When I went into hospital for a few months my mom had the role of taking care of my rats and she said changing the food and water was a challenge because Pippin would run up and mock bite her.

She also had no fear of dogs. Diesel once made the mistake of putting his nose up up to the cage and Pippin came running, lunged at the bars and bit his nose. He never went near the cage again. I can guarentee shes chasing Diesel in heaven right now.

Then there was the time I first adopted baby Sam. Pippin acepted her without much hassle but her sister Merry was super territorial and a bully at first. Merry would pace around Sams cage all puffed up, hissing and huffing, ready to grab her through the bars. She got a bit to aggressive one time and Pippin lunged at her and flipped her over. The defeated Merry waddled away and sulked the carrier for a while.

She was lovable, protective, fearless and highly intelligent. Pics in next post.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)




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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

I'm so sorry... Pippin was an amazing ratty and definitely an inspiration. Heck, if she could stay content and keep going with 6 tumors, it definitely gives me hope that my older girl can live a happy life with her mammary tumor.

It definitely seems like Pippin had a great life with you, and while she may be gone now, just remember that you'll always have memories of her time with you.


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## InsideSunrise (Apr 28, 2017)

I'm sorry for your loss, it sounds like she was an amazing rat.


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

I'm so sorry for your loss, it is never easy to say goodbye.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Yes, she was extremely hardy. She probably would've lasted another few months but it would've been cruel to make her carry that lump around. On the bright side, I might be getting a baby rat on the weekend. I have my eye on this cute little hooded fawn with a headspot.


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## Asiposea (Dec 16, 2016)

Sorry to hear this, what a beautiful fawn girl. I remember you posting before about simultaneous health issues with the dog and rat. Glad you got some space in between and a little extra time with her. Love the pic of her on the pink pillow...a little queen!


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## Lady Isolde (May 7, 2017)

This sucks.. *HUGS*


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