Mickey
7/99 - 3/18/01
It's a sad day. Mickey, my oldest rat, died unexpectedly. I
had been in San Francisco for the weekend. When I got home, I let the excited
rats out of the cages for their daily playtime. After a few minutes, I
notice Mickey wasn't out. Sadly, I found her still in the hammock, passed
on. She had to have passed only a few hours before.
Mickey did have a tumor that had started up a couple months ago, but
it didn't get very big and didn't seem to be bothering her at all.
She was her usual self, bouncing all over the place, making sure all the
rats knew she was the alpha. Although she would sometimes get snippy
with some of the rats, later she'd be curled up with them in a ball of
fur. Her tumor was soft and didn't seem to be causing any problems.
Last time I saw her on Friday she was her usual self, begging for treats,
bouncing all over place.
Mickey came to me about a year and a half ago from a lady who had just
had a baby and couldn't keep her rats. Mickey and her sister Cocoa were
supposed to go to a new home, but I got attached to them quickly.
Cocoa died about three weeks later, but Mickey basically "ran" the rathood
from then on. She was a strong girl who never got sick and
was always active. She provided me with much joy and I miss her. She was
a great girl and I'm happy to have had the time we did.
