This one's for you, Syd.

As most people know, I am an animal lover. I've have so many pets, some wild and some from pet shops. Hamsters, snakes turtles, lizards, rats, fish, hermit crabs, frogs and a dog. For some people to say "Its just a rat" usually means that they don't know them because if they did, they would understand how they make wonderful pets. To me, they are not dirty animals, their loving and attention seeking creatures. What most people don't know is that there are different kinds of rats. There are wild rats that you see running around in cities/woods/foreign counties, then there are humane rats or "pet rats". I rescued my three rats from becoming snake food and they have been the best pets next to dogs! They love attention and love when you play with their tail and scratch behind their ears.


Well, out of the three (Syd, Peanut and Stewart) Syd was my favorite. She was the smallest of the three and was the most loving animal, not to mention an excellent escape artist! A few weeks ago she developed a large tumor on her left side. At first she was fine. She ate and drank normally and was herself. After two weeks had passed, she worsened. She stopped eating, she stopped moving and started chewing at the tumor. She was in pure pain and it killed me to see her in the state she was in.

Tonight (or should I say this morning) I took her out of the cage, away from the other two, and held her in a towel for two and a half hours. She never had been that still since I had her. She laid in my hands looking miserable. When I finally put her back in her cage, I punched holes in a shoe box and lined it was a towel for her to stay in for the night so the other two wouldn't bother her. By the time I reached the cage she began to have spasms and she finally passed.

Rest in peace little girl. Miss you already.