It's just another Dead Rat. What does it matter?

[tcpip]

Monte just died.

caseopaya and I took him him out this morning to get some sun and fresh air. He hadn't been well, losing control of a hind paw, and going almost completely blind.

On returning home, he was most insistent that I hold him, high on my chest, resting his head on my shoulder. He didn't want to go anywhere else or want anything else. So for the better part of the past hour I was holding him, closely, listening to his strained breathing.

Suddenly, he coughed up blood and started breathing in coughing fits. This lasted a couple of minutes. The tough ol' rat, he wasn't going to go quietly into the dark, he would rage against the fading of the light. I had to tell him to let it go.

Then he died.

I'm going to miss the ol' fella.

Comments

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

Awww :( G'bye, monte. Party on with Nyx, Starlily and pandora in that big cardboard box full of rat treats in the sky

[feywords.livejournal.com]

Sorry you lost your buddy.

[casca-2u.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that. Monte seems so human, and loving and loved, from your entry.

*hugs*

[bellaforte.livejournal.com]

*hugs*
Sounds like a rat of utmost character.
I hope we all go with the same love for life.

[cptjohnc.livejournal.com]

It sounds like a fitting end to a life well lived. I'm sure he will be missed. My condolences.

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry to hear this. I'm glad he got to be with you as he died.

love

Catherine

[darkstardeity.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[bobstar.livejournal.com]

Ahh, the poor little mite.

The little buggers touch us so deeply.

Both Harley and Monte had such wonderful lives filled with love and scritches.

I'm glad Mouse got to meet both of the boys.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I'm glad Mouse gave Monte a lesson on how to be civil! It was a bit of character building he needed to experience. He learned from it, and became a better rat.

The little buggers touch us so deeply.

Smart, wild and full of personality. They are like great people, but with an accelerated lifespan.

Monte

[klingongal.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear about Monte. Your tribute page (http://au.geocities.com/lev_lafayette/montebanc.html) really touched my heart. I don't look forward to my boys dying...but I hope that when they do they are able to pass with me holding them and letting them know that I love them. (((((HUGS))))

Re: Monte

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the kind words. The boys thoroughly deserve their little tributes. It would be preferable of course, if they did not have to be written.

[dukeofmelbourne.livejournal.com]

Deepest sympathy.

What would Rat Heaven be like, I wonder?

Rat Heaven

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

What would Rat Heaven be like, I wonder?

What do rats dream of and desire?

Food would be high on the list of course.

It would have lots of nooks and crannies, passages to run down, an enormous variety of smells and not much open space or too sun. That said, it would be warm.

There would be mazes, puzzles and strange things things to climb. The most interesting parts would be multi-dimensional.

It would be free of cats, snakes, owls and other such predators.

There would be these strange monkeys that supply them with treats liked cooked pasta and like to give them scritches.

In rat heaven, rats would not age after a certain point and would be able to leap, climb and frolic.

Injuries from their scuffles would be temporary, cartoon-like.

I also imagine there would be a lot of, ahh, ratly frolicking going on. They seem to like that, the little perverts.

[mystic-one.livejournal.com]

poor lil dear, i only just caught up on what had happened from your latest post. So sorry to hear you've lost a lil friend.

In my opinion "rat" or not, our pets are just as much a part of our family as our human kin and we grieve over their passing just as any other.

*hugs*

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

I'm awfully sorry. It's funny how some people don't understand how strong the connection with an animal can be...please accept my sympathies.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Those little rodents are very sociable and intelligent, so it's just par for the course really that people connect with them.

As much as I like them, I don't think I'd feel the same way about a lizard!