Daisy Mae crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on August 13, 2010. Our little ratty went into the light and joined all our much loved companions in the land beyond. She might have been small but she was a big part of our family.
I found our little chocolate hooded rat on Craig list in 2008. She was living in the dark room of a teenager where the door was always kept shut so that the dog would not terrorize her. I fell in love right away although I had not yet seen her. I emailed, I phoned. I did it over and over and each time I was talking with a junior high girl who just couldn’t seem to get anything done. This went on for months. The parents were never home to talk to, the girl was changing her mind, there were so many reasons they no longer wanted the rat but getting her was proving to be more than difficult. Finally I spoke with the Mother who just put the rat in her car and met us in Spokane in a parking lot.
It was all so perfect! That day was our 28th Anniversary and this was our gift to ourselves. We named her Daisy Mae and off we went to the feed store to buy rat food, treats, a carrying case and toys. She came with a pink 2 story cage with a little pink house.
Our dogs and cats were excited to meet Daisy Mae but the newness quickly wore off and Daisy Mae settled in. Eventually she would run up and down our arm or snuggle into our neck. It took time to get to that point as she had obviously had little or no human interaction. She loved fresh fruit, a chocolate chip, a banana with peanut butter or a cooked lima bean.
Daisy Mae would run up and down David in the morning as he did yoga, balancing into downward facing dog or cobra. The donkeys loved her and would gently sniff her as she sniffed them. Frankie Lee was particularly enamored with her and always came running to the fence when he saw us with her.
We knew when it was time to let her go. It’s never easy to make that decision but we are their guardians and they depend on us to care for them and we could not let her suffer just to keep her here with us. Her mighty spirit will not be forgotten and hopefully she will visit us often now that she has her angel wings. We will be watching for feathers.
FACT: Most people do not know that there are now few rats left in the world that do not carry the cancer gene. It is tragic what man has done to these sensitive creatures in the name of science. Because of this they have a very short life span with an average of 2.5 years.)
