Death of a pet

Well, yesterday my rat, 3B (or Big-Balled Bastard for long) died. He hadn't been doing too good the last month or more. He lost all use of his back legs and hips and all of his muscles were atrophied and he was losing a lot of body mass everywhere. He was losing hair in places and he had a bad cataract in his left eye (and a lesser one, I think, in his right one).

He was my first rat and several friends were perplexed why I would actually want one as a pet. Well, it really wasn't my idea. Someone at my mother's job had some babies and was asking around the office for anybody who would want one. My mother was interested and I had never had a rat, but have had hamsters and a few guinea pigs when I was younger. I'd heard they were intelligent and you could teach them tricks. I never taught him anything, but sometimes I'd let him sit on my shoulder or run back and forth on the back of the couch. When people were sitting on the couch, he'd check them out and sometimes try to eat their hair. :)

He was cute and I was glad to have had the experience of caring for him. He lived from about September 2003 to January 2006. I will miss him, but I'm glad he doesn't have to suffer anymore.

R.I.P. 3B