# hello and goodbye poor sweet lydia



## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

yesterday two rats, lyida and rosie were given to me. they are both around 2 years old but their owner didn't want to spend anymore money on them to take them to the vet. lydia had been sick for at least 4 weeks. when she came to me yesterday it was like looking at a walking skeleton with the skin still on. i could see every bone in her body and just by lightly patting her belly i could feel distinct organs. i offered her ensure plus and baby food and put her directly on baytril for her breathing. it was bad sounding but did not sound quite as bad as tween who is fighting pneumonia right now. i knew the main battle was going to get her to put the weight on. she ate like there was no tomorrow and unfortunately there was only one more brief one. i was encouraged by her appetite (tween has lost her's) but her body was in really bad shape and it could not contain lydia's determined spirit any longer. she died at 3:47 this afternoon as my newest little ratty necklace. 

when lydia came to me yesterday she was full of spirit and i could tell looking in her eyes she was full of fight. she bruxxed happily for me and ate everything i placed in front of her with enthusiasm. she comforted tween in the sick cage and was in turn comforted by tween. they groomed each other and me (well the finger that had the yummy food stuff on it anyway). she was so full of life even though her body was so horribly wasted that i thought if anyone had a chance to pull back from this is was going to be poor lydia. i did not know her for very long, just a little over 27 hours in fact, but in that time she had quickly wormed her way to my heart and she will be missed. i'm so sorry i was not able to get to her sooner so that she might have had a better chance. i promised her apples and bananas and chocolate and a horde of other yummys just as soon as she got better enough that her wasted body would be able to handle them but it was not to be. hopefully, where she is now she has all those and more and she can tell me all about the different flavors and foods when my time comes to see all my lost babes again. happy eatings lydia, may you never be hungry again. 




rosie has survived her and i fully believe she will pull through and become a joy for the rest of my mischeif. she is thin but no thinner then you would expect on a hamster block diet. right now she looks like what tasche did when she came here. with some extra food and a bit of time she will come round nicely. already tasche has a nice pudge to her belly and i suspect rosie will follow suit.


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## Neuroticax (May 1, 2007)

Aww.  That's so sad. -sigh-


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## crapola (Feb 12, 2007)

i'm so sorry  lydia was lucky to have you and lots of food for the final hours of her little life.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

hmm she did seem to love to have so much food. i was worried she was going to back herself up and was going to start her on the brat diet today but didn't have the chance. i'm glad at least she didn't feel hungry in her passing at least. the poor girl. her previous owner claimed to love her "sooooo much" too... *sighs* how can starving the girl be love? how could she not know to take her to the vet at the very least when she started to act different and sickly? started to lose weight like she did? or at the very least accept that she wasn't going to help and find someone that would when there was a chance... i don't understand people. i really don't. how can what the previous owner did be called love? how can she claim that?? ugh, lydia deserved so much more.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

ok, so i just got into it with lydia's old owner. i couldn't stay silent about it. not anymore. and i will admit now that i did not keep my cool, that i presented her with information harshly and so its unlikely to be recieved properly, by her replies to me it hasn't. but there was no other way i could have said it. she does not deserve a sugar coating after what she did to lydia. i will not post a play by play obviously and i will not mention names. but the lesson that lydia died for has gone unheard by the person that had needed to hear it most. i have been informed that she will only be keeping rats as breeding stock for her feed for her snakes from now on. i'm not sure that's any better then keeping them as she had been. she had bought a large cage for them, spent money on an operation for lydia but never saved any so when she lost her job she could not afford the vet. we've all made that mistake before, i've done it myself and learned to keep my vet can because of it. i did not and do not blame her for that. but because she thinks us rat people are nuts and because she had bad experiences with them before she has decided that rats are more pain then they're worth. i'm afraid my rant at her was not helping. and i don't even feel better for doing it. i feel ashamed for the way i presented myself. and irrate on lydia's behalf. there is nothing like at least i got this off my chest, nothing positive from this experience. but it still had to be done. lydia needed a voice, even though it fell on deaf ears, likely due to my current inability to remain calm. i didn't call her names but i was certainly harsh. catch more files with honey just didn't apply in my vocabulary here. all the times i've told members here to leave the computer for a mintue, think it over. i thought it over all day long and still i shame myself in my conduct. i don't know how you rescues manage it. i've taken in rats in all conditions from all different situations and lydia was the straw that broke the cammel's back, your backs must me so much stronger then mine, you would have so many more straws. i admire your work but i can honestly say i would never be able to do what you do. you are stronger people then i am. i feel so hallow inside right now and i barely knew lydia, blasting the ear of the one who did this to her did not help either and there's nothing more i can do for her. i feel so helpless in lydia's memory


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## Learna (Mar 4, 2008)

It's a harsh reality that some face and getting angry is only human. You may have been mean but some people need a little blasting in order to see. From my experiences with reptile people, they don't give a rat's ass (excuse the pun) about rats and I find that highly unusual that a reptile person would want rats as pets.
Lydia's voice was heard, it's being heard here in tyhe forum and we are all listening and also learning from Lydia's and your experience.
We are all with you and supporting you whatever you do Twitch.
Rest in Peace Lydia.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

thank you learna. that really means a lot to me. i thought yesterday was bad but today has been straight from ****. i've been snappy and drained all day. i've been short tempered even with my son, which i'm not proud of. i've been distracted, which makes it very difficult to study for the test i have tomorrow that i don't think i'm going to have time to do. i had a test today which i think i flunked, but oddly enough doesn't seem to be bothering me like it should, or normally would. i have 2 essays due in two weeks that i have yet to start and final prepared essay exams that i need to start as well. i feel so frazzled. and then the owner replied again today. i went completely off the handle. cursing an dcalling names and ranting, the whole nine yards. it was like i was watching someone else do and type all these things though i felt more angry then i have ever felt before in my life. i want these feelings to stop. i want to get back to my normal life and get myself under control, be able to focus again and not feel generally sour, but i don't know how. i'm hoping time will make it go away but i don't want to wait. ugh, what a cruddy experience....


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

Twitch, you did what you could. You gave Lydia a passing that, ok yes, could have been avoided, but you gave her respect, and love and most importantly a friendly hand to comfort her when she needed it.

You need to let go though, for your own sake. Talking to this stupid excuse of a woman isn't going to bring her back, it's going to bring you down and keep these horrible feelings festering away at you. If she won't listen - then her ignorance is going to be her downfall, and with any luck it will happen sooner rather than later.

As Learna said, Lydia's voice has been heard here and I know many of us reading this are going to take her story away with us and it will encourage us to do more good to the misunderstood creatures of this world.

Hun, let the anger go, lay the battle against this woman to the side and let Lydia and the sweet memories she gave you rest in peace.

We are all here if you need us


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i have since the last posting here blocked the old owner from my facebook and am no longer in contact with her. you were right ration, letting the anger go certainly helped a lot. i feel mucch better now and if it weren't for the near the end of term rush i'm sure i wouldn't be this stressed! :lol:

i feel sorry now for what lydia had to go through but can accept that i truely tried everything that i could. i can now apprecaite her short time with me better, rather then be embittered by the anger of the situation. 

but it would seem i am not yet allowed to put this all behind me. another person i was talking to about the issue has reported the old owner to the SPCA. had i thought anything positive would come of that i would have done so myself. it is unlikely that they will even investigate, even less likely that if they do they will know where to find me. but should my luck be ever cruddy, i will get a visit by the spca to see lydia's body and rosie's current condition and leave a statement. i value what the spca stands for but i don't support their methods. i am not fond of them and should they show up at my door i will kick them out. i know this is very unlikely but it was not something i needed to be thinking about. i am trying to remind myself again and again that nothing is likely to happen, but sometimes i hate being able to see all sides of an arguement you know...


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

The chances of the RSPCA (UK version) investigating such a case would be remote here. Unless you have serious neglect of multiple (usually a multitude of) animals, they don't even lift an eyebrow at the situation. Worrying about what probably may not happen will only wind you back up again.

Can't you contact them yourself to put your mind at rest? Explain they've been contacted and whether you should expect a visit or tell them you would rather not be visited or what not? As I've never been in that situation, I wouldn't know how they do things. But that would be my first port of call anyway.

It's good to hear you are feeling a little better about the situation. How is Rosie doing?


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i never thought about calling them myself, probably too close to the situation to even realize it. thanks, i'll try that. 

rosie is doing wonderful. she's improved by leaps and bounds each day. she has gotten used to everyone else and is lounging with them in the upper parts of the cage today. her weight, though still thin, is on this side of healthy at least. she's still not sure enough to come get treats at the door or poke her head in the dish of baby food (i made too much for tween this morning) with everyone else yet, but there is a noticeable improvement each day. she likes to get into things she shouldn't (and that i THOUGHT i had prevented rats to get into) but she comes back to me frequently for cuddles and scritches. once she gets rid of all her shyness i'm sure we're going to have our hands full with her!


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