The Campaign Builder's Guild

The day before last Valentines day, my boss asked me if I knew anyone who might want a pair of rats. I bought them from him for a mere 20 bucks, which was much lower than the cost of the cage, so it was a steal. We named the two girls Troz (after "Zort" spelled backwards) and Yuffie (because she always stole from Troz). I always knew that rats were smart, but they were affectionate too.

Yuffie didn't like to come out much, she'd always fight and squirm when you picked her up, but she loved to sit on shoulders. She was always crafty, the one who always made her and her sister's bed, the one who figured out how to open their Christmas presents (mini stockings filled with treats of various sorts), and the brave one who would climb along arms to get to other people or back to her cage.

Troz was the most affectionate rat ever. She loved to give little licks, especially if you had food on you. She never bit, she was always eager to play. She was the one who figured out how to get out of their cage; one day, we came home to find her sitting ontop of the cage, looking all proud.

Troz passed on the fourth of July, from an apparent lung infection. She was so far gone by the time she showed symptoms that there was nothing we could do. We tried to give Yuffie extra love, because she had never been alone before. At first she seemed depressed, and her energy level never fully came back. Yuffie just died in my hands this morning; the heat finally got to her yesterday, and she stopped eating and drinking. Odd thing is both of the days, the 4th and today, were/are overcast; I don't know if I should take it as coincidence or as if the world is feeling sorry with me.

Rats only live 2 to 4 years, but we've only had them for barely one and a half years. I don't know how old they were when we got them. All I know is that we gave them the best lives possible; they always had food and water, and they got treats every day (rat treats are little dried pieces of yogurt; they'd get all anxious and happy if you so much as crinkled the bag of treats).

These weren't the first pets I had that died, but they were the first pets that were truely mine. I moved out back in 2005, and my girlfriend moved in with me shortly after. Troz and Yuffie were our first pets, a Valentines present.

My girlfriend wants to get new ones right away, because she doesn't think she could stand seeing the empty cage for too long. I don't know if I should get new ones so soon, I feel like I should mourn for a little.

Has anyone else lost a beloved pet? How did you deal with it?

Take lots of good pictures when you have them. Then you never forget.

I lost a cat to electrocution (climbed a telephone pole to escape a dog, and touched both the pole and the wires at same time), and a family dog to very old age (we actually put him down, but he was blind, deaf, and suffering from some movement problems so it was for the best). Best thing you can do is to get new ones, really, if not for yourself so much as those around you (in this case your girlfriend). You'll warm up to them soon enough, and they'll remind you of the old ones and such reminders will remind you that the new ones deserve the same affection as the old ones did.

Thanks Troll.

This reminds me of Cheddar.  He was my first personally owned pet, and he died after only a year.  Tumor on his throat, terrible stuff.  But he was a great pet, who only got into trouble when it was adorable.

I never replaced him, but I advise you to replace your rats.  An empty cage is a sad thing, but a full one is filled with life.  I plan to get a new rat once I get through the dorms at college and get my own place, but since you have the opportunity now, get some new friends.  Remember that mourning makes nobody happy, but moving on can do wonders.

You have my condolences, Xev. I know how the loss of a pet is still the loss of a loved one, and it's a huge blow.

I guess the best I can really do is hope that they're in that giant cheese-mine in the sky, and remind you that your pain is understood.

Same here. I had a fred-bellied frog or something when I was like 5. We went on vacation and we came back and he was dead. Got over it quickly though.

My last pet that was personally mine was my rat Bela Vlad Dracula Tepes Lugosi, Bela for short.  She died when I was in my first and only year of college, about six years ago now.  Some of my relatives have some acreage out in the country.  I buried her out there and had a little ceremony where I quietly and privately told her to find a happy destination in the afterlife but that I would feel honored if she chose to reincarnate to be close to me again.


I still haven't "replaced" her owing to life at no pets places shortly afterwards.  I'm considering getting a rat or two again, if my dad okays it now that we live some place that allows pets.

My sympathies.  I'm of the getting a new pet pretty soon after mindset.  Also, getting lots of pictures is a good idea.