Spooky's Memorial

My rat spooky passed away at 4:30pm on 2/20/02 He was a great rat and he'll never be forgotten.

I got him in May of 2001, along with my rat Starbuck. Together, they had 13 children. He had the best personality, he loved other people, he never bit, and his favorite foods were sunflower seeds, peanuts, and cheerios.

We had many great moments together. He used to sit on my shoulder as I walked around the house. He loved getting the attention from everyone. I'll always remember the time I brought him downstairs to get some ice cream with me. He kept sticking his tail in my bowl. My friend had said "Would you like some ice cream with that tail?"

On 2/18/02, I started to notice that Spooky was ill. He just layed on the bottom of his cage and didn't really do anything. He had gotten up a few time to get some food and water, so I didn't think it was seriously. The next night, i noticed he couldn't get up at all. There wasn't much I could do. When I got home the next day, he was dehydrated and struggling to breathe. He was in so much pain. We took him to the vet and she told us it was either a tumor (which is common in rats) or pneumonia (Both of these later killed his wife, Starbuck, and their children). I had no other choice... he was suffering.

I had him euthanized. Giving him medicine would have stressed him out and killed him anyway. The odds were against us. That night, I took him home in a box with a towel and buried him in the yard. I do miss him.

May 2001 - February 20, 2002

The picture isn't great. The flash reflected off his old cage and I had to blur his "man area"...I thought I had more pictures of him on another roll of film, but it turned out I didn't.