# Flash - the sweetest, prettiest and unluckiest rattie



## olddeadpig (Jan 6, 2010)

Some of you have followed the misfortunes of my poor Flash over the last month or so. In brief, we were lucky enough to know her from 6 weeks old, when she came to us from a breeder a couple of counties away (thank you Odyssey Rats), which was just before Christmas 2008, until yesterday when she visited the vet for the last time. She was only 15 months old.

She was a mischievous little rascal to start with, escaping when she could, nipping and running with our older does Lily and Lulu, and with her sister Ruby. She and Ruby both put on weight at an amazing rate, overtaking their older cagemates in size within a short time (from very big stock to start with and given too many treats by me....). Both her and Ruby became much lazier as they grew older, leaving the tiresome matters of nest-building, storing food and serious grooming to their smaller older cagemates. Flash still had the cutest face in the world though! When she came to beg for treats or just to see me through the bars, her plaintive little face could melt your heart - and it did. She had the biggest ears, the longest whiskers and the best boggles. 

All was fine until the beginning of this year. She looked as if she had a touch of conjunctivitis to start with, just a bit of swelling of the corner of her right eye. However within a day or so the eye was protruding and swollen and clearly there was something seriously wrong. I still didn't realise how serious until she saw our local vet the next day, who confirmed the eye was already blind and beyond saving. Our local vet does not inspire me with confidence, so I started researching the problem myself - this is how I ended up on ratforum.com for the first time, see my thread "Prolapsed Eyeball - Please Help", a fairly drastic first post for a newbie. 

The consensus of advice seemed to be that the eye should be removed, and I was reassured that she could still live perfectly well with one eye. I therefore asked my local vet to refer her to a local animal hospital (she offered to have a go at removing the eye herself but I didn't think Flash would survive her tender mercies!). To give her credit, within less than 24 hours she had discovered that the local hospital couldn't do this operation but gave me the details of an exotic vet in Manchester about 25-30 miles away. She faxed thru her case notes to this vet practice and I took Flash in the next morning - during the worst winter weather in my part of the world for 30 years. It took two and a half hours for a journey which would usually take 40 minutes, and as it was mostly driving on sheet ice, was completely terrifying. We're not really geared up for severe winter weather in England. 

The operation was a complete success. The vet found an abscess in Flash's cheek and drained it at the same time. It was never clear what injured the eye in the first place - could have been a fall in the cage or an accidental injury from another rat. She came home and within a day or so was back to her normal self, bounding around eating everything in sight and causing mischief. The eye socket healed quickly and uneventfully.

However within a few days we noticed a large swelling develop, almost overnight, further back on the same side of her head by her ear. We took her back to the vet in Manchester, who drained the swelling and did some tests on the contents, which came back negative for infection. It seemed to be just a build-up of sebaceous gunk that wasn't draining through the external ear as normal. We were reassured she wasn't seriously ill, and left for a week's holiday, leaving a lovely neighbour to look after all 4 rats and administer the painkillers and antibiotics (Thanks Jill!). 

However when we got back a week later the lump was back and growing fast. My wonderful wife Emma took Flash to the vet this time, as I was getting into difficulty at work with all the time off. The vet didn't really explain very well what he was doing, although I have since found out it was textbook treatment - Flash came back to us that day with a huge wound in the side of her face and I was very upset. It looked like she had been experimented on. However what had actually been done, once the swelling went down and the healing process began, was to open up her entire ear canal to the outside, to stop the detritus that was building up and causing the swelling from accumulating there. Again, the operation was a success as the lump never recurred.

However at the same time as draining the lump the second time, the vet noticed that the lining of the ear canal was very thick, and took a biopsy for tests. 3 days after this operation he called me to confirm she had an untreatable squamous cell carcinoma. He described it as very invasive. We discussed how to keep Flash as comfortable as possible, and I checked what method he would use if I had to make the decision to let her say goodbye - again, it was textbook. 

That was 11 days ago. Flash loved sucking her metacam from the syringe. She still ate everything in sight, although in the last few days her teeth became so maloccluded as the tumour grew, twisting her poor head out of shape, that she couldn't cope with hard food. We soaked her hard food in soy infant formula and she scarfed it down, despite the best efforts of the others to eat it all for her! She showed no real signs of weakness and still enjoyed coming out for a cuddle and a scritch. Until yesterday morning I was happy to keep her going. However when I came home for lunch yesterday (my office is only a couple of miles away so I get to see my ratties every lunchtime) the tumour was clearly starting to ulcerate, and a couple of abscesses, or possibly secondary tumours, had sprung up on her cheek and under her chin. She was still in good spirits apparently, but I know rats don't show pain until they are in very serious distress.

I made the decision that as she obviously didn't have long left because the tumour was starting to ulcerate, and I didn't want her being put thru a fourth operation in as many weeks to drain the abscesses, it was kindest to say goodbye to my wonderful, sweet, beautiful, placid Flash. I took her to the vet after work and she was put to sleep. My wife came with me and we both stroked her and petted her for a while in the surgery before she saw the vet. She was very quiet and still, boggling a little but not moving in her small carry-cage. In the consulting room just before the end we got her out and she was bit more lively, lifting her ruined head up to sniff us both and attempting to climb up my coat. I laid her in the anesthetic chamber with some of her bedding and some chopped apple which had come with her in the carry cage, and I said goodbye. 

The vet and his assistant were wonderful. Really understanding, letting us have as much time as we wanted with her beforehand, and laying her out beautifully in a box in cotton wool afterwards. They curled her so she looked like she was asleep in the box, and laid her on her right side (which was where all the damage was done) so she presented her perfect left side upwards to us. She was still warm when we got home 45 minutes later. We stroked her and then had to leave her for the evening in the cold of the garage. The ground was too frozen to bury her there and then. We celebrated her life and chattered to the remaining three rats. 

At lunchtime today I came home and buried her. I lifted a drift of snowdrops - we have about a dozen or so clumps of them in flower in our small garden at the moment, the only sign of life at this time of year - and put her to rest underneath, replacing the snowdrops on top and putting flowerpots round the disturbed earth to put off inquisitive cats. 

Although I loved her whatever she looked like, I think this is the cutest photo ever taken of her. It's been posted elsewhere on Meet My Rats, but it's my favourite. It was taken a while ago while she was maybe 3 months old or so, but it sums her up - the cute face, the plaintive look, the plump belly! I miss her terribly. I don't know how the other 3 rats feel but they're getting extra treats! I will always have the memory of my beautiful Flash. I hope you like the look of her too!

www.flickr.com/photos/olddeadpig/4319658621

RIP Flash, my beautiful poodle.


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## AMJ087 (Aug 27, 2008)

RIP sweet girl


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## Lea (May 15, 2009)

I'm sorry for your loss. RIP Flash.


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## nertnie (Jan 4, 2010)

:'( So very sorry for your loss. RIP Sweet Flash.


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## ratastic (Jul 1, 2007)

Poor lil girl, I'm so sorry for your loss.


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## psycho_ash (Sep 27, 2009)

That is so heartbreaking and... I'm sorry. That really is a cute picture, that face just begs for love and cuddles. I can't even make words right now. 

Just remember... Flash is up in ratfriend heaven boggling away and waiting for you.  

(I will believe in ratfriend heaven until the day I die, I don't care how sappy it sounds.)


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