# Goodbye to all our friends



## ratcals (Oct 30, 2007)

Iâ€™m new here so I havenâ€™t read any of these threads until now. It wasnâ€™t easy but I read each and every entry here in â€œOver the Rainbow Bridgeâ€. All the way from Lois who was rescued from Uncle Billâ€™s and only enjoyed one day of being treated special to Oreo who started out as a science fair subject and hung around for almost five years. I am so sorry for every loss mentioned here.

It takes a special person to open their heart to a rat, something normally regarded as vermin. We all know differently though. Theyâ€™re such amazing and affectionate creatures. I know each and every rat, hamster, ferret mentioned here, including Samantha the cat, lived a much better life because we made it better for them. Iâ€™m not a religious man at all, but I know caring for animals has to count for something in whatever afterlife there is in store for us.

I am particularly sorry to the younger people here with parents that wouldnâ€™t pay to take our little treasures to the vet for the care they needed. Please take comfort in the knowledge that I am a parent and love our rats very much. Pets are not disposable, not even our beloved rats. Thatâ€™s why I shopped around for a vet with the same mindset as me. I am fortunate that I have two different vets very close to me to choose from. When my guys are not well, they get medical attention. No questions asked.

Most of your tributes brought tears to my eyes. Especially the ones with the pictures. How could anyone possibly look at a cute little rat and not fall in love with them immediately? I wish I could have met each and everyone of them. I was especially touched by the story about Odin. I couldnâ€™t finish it, maybe later, but not now. You made a difference in his life and no one can take that from you.

I spend a lot of time with our rats, but after reading these sad tales I vow to spend even more time with them. Iâ€™m not going to dwell on the thought of losing them but instead enjoy the time we have. Theyâ€™re both still quite young so hopefully we have many happy times ahead of us.

I recently moved to the U.S. from England. While I lived there we had two cats, Tiger and Whiskers. Unfortunately we had to leave them behind. I know itâ€™s not the same as losing them through dying but it hurt just as much. I drove them an hour away to a very reputable animal shelter (Wood Green). To make things easier on my wife and children I went by myself. I cried the whole way there. Fortunately the good people at Wood Green saw my distress and moved me to a private room to fill out the necessary paperwork. I couldn't say goodbye to them at the shelter, it hurt too much. I cried all the way home too.

I made it a condition of their adoption that they were to stay together. They understood and said they would abide by my wishes. Well within two days Tiger and Whiskers were adopted. They do follow up visits on adoptions so I also followed up to make sure they were settling in fine with their new owners. They are both fine and adjusting well. Itâ€™s been two months and thinking of them still brings tears to my eyes. I miss you Whiskers. The way you would sit beside me at the dinner table and beg for food. And you would gently tap my hand with your paw to make sure I knew you were there. I miss you Tiger and the way you would run upstairs and hide under the quilt on our bed whenever someone knocked on the front door. And the way both of your chased butterflies around the back garden. I canâ€™t imagine they tasted good when you caught them but you ate them anyway.

The loss of a pet is never easy, no matter what the circumstances. Itâ€™s nice to know rat lovers of the world have a place to come to for comfort too. Especially when no one else understands us.

RIP all you little ratties, we miss you.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

thank you for understanding and taking the time to get to know all the lost babies. 

i can understand your pain for rehoming a cherished pet. though i did not know Neko (Minion's mother) as long as you did your two cats it still hurt to let her go somewhere else. i had picked her up off the street and only had her for a couple months but i remember her and miss her quirks. i really wish she would have worked things out with Sesshoumaru and that i had more money and a better landlord that i could have kept her but i found the best home i could for her and made sure she would be loved and never sent to the street again. knowing she has a good warm home helps a little but i still miss her. so i can understand. its almost the same as losing them to illness except that at some level you can console yourself knowing that they are well and loved even if the people doing the loving isn't you.


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## rattusnorvegicus (Dec 31, 2007)

Thanking for understanding the losses to everybody rats.  

To the world, you are one person
To a rat, you are the world
-anonymous


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