Valedictions Mischief, Welcome Rascal
Oct. 30th, 2010 01:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tcpipMischief rat died a couple of hours ago, having reached the ripe old age of two years, two months, two weeks and two days. Last night ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
caseopaya woke me to say that he'd climbed out onto the steepest part of our roof and was stuck in the gutter. So after climbing through our narrow window exit and hanging on by my finger tips from the sill I am reaching down with my other arm to collect the escapee rodent - and then I get a leg cramp. Still, rodent rescued successfully with much amusement. Following morning I find him tucked into a deep box and his breathing was very hard. It was abundantly clear he wasn't going to be around for much longer. We petted him and, as his breathing become worse, placed him our front garden where he found a clump of foliage and passed away quietly. His actions the night before were quite understandable, and typical from what I've witnessed over the years - when you're about to die, move away from the colony.
Thus ends the life of Mischief, often shortened to 'chief for his leadership by moderation among his his brothers, or Mr. Softfur on account of his velvet-like covering. Never over-excited, never despondent, 'chief spent his life according to the principle of the Golden Mean, "nothing in excess". As with all our boys, he loved people and especially his servants whom he delighted spending hours with, not in play, but just in company. I rather suspect he was the smartest of the trilogy (Calamity being the strongest and most agile, Trouble being the most gregarious and apparently healthy - despite his Porthos-like girth and eating capacity).
Not wanting poor old Trouble without any members of his species we made our way to the local pet store wherecaseopaya had noticed in her previous visits a young rat all by himself in the store. Bright and friendly, this four-and-a-half month old has now been added to the household. Welcome, Rascal.
caseopaya woke me to say that he'd climbed out onto the steepest part of our roof and was stuck in the gutter. So after climbing through our narrow window exit and hanging on by my finger tips from the sill I am reaching down with my other arm to collect the escapee rodent - and then I get a leg cramp. Still, rodent rescued successfully with much amusement. Following morning I find him tucked into a deep box and his breathing was very hard. It was abundantly clear he wasn't going to be around for much longer. We petted him and, as his breathing become worse, placed him our front garden where he found a clump of foliage and passed away quietly. His actions the night before were quite understandable, and typical from what I've witnessed over the years - when you're about to die, move away from the colony.Thus ends the life of Mischief, often shortened to 'chief for his leadership by moderation among his his brothers, or Mr. Softfur on account of his velvet-like covering. Never over-excited, never despondent, 'chief spent his life according to the principle of the Golden Mean, "nothing in excess". As with all our boys, he loved people and especially his servants whom he delighted spending hours with, not in play, but just in company. I rather suspect he was the smartest of the trilogy (Calamity being the strongest and most agile, Trouble being the most gregarious and apparently healthy - despite his Porthos-like girth and eating capacity).
Not wanting poor old Trouble without any members of his species we made our way to the local pet store where
caseopaya had noticed in her previous visits a young rat all by himself in the store. Bright and friendly, this four-and-a-half month old has now been added to the household. Welcome, Rascal.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2010-11-01 07:02 pm (UTC)