Rest in Peace, Ashley. You were loved!

Pets or Pests??

When my son Jason was 11, he practically begged us off and on all of 2005 for a pet rat. Mike and I had mixed feelings, after all, it's a R-A-T !!! Our only experience with rats in recent years had not been a positive experience. We moved a stack of firewood for Mike's Mom, and we disturbed a family of rats. It sort of freaked us out. ;-)

One of Jason's good friends Brandon had two female fancy rats - May and Rena. Brandon's mom Bonnie told me all about them. Brandon tried really hard to get me to hold one of his rats. I just wouldn't do it. Hello....it...is...a...rat!!!!!!!!

Nonetheless, Jason did get 2 female rats for Christmas 2005. Two females that he named Ashley and Sabrina. They were very difficult to tell apart, but it turned out that Sabrina had a white tip on her tale. Well, as the five of us began to be more familiar with "our rats" we began to notice how much personality they began to develop. And in time, we all began to hold them and play with them.

Many evenings we would go to Jason's room and let the rats run loose on top of Jason's bed. They were so funny running around exploring and burrowing in the folds of the bedspread. They would run in and out of our clothes. Mike would lay on the floor and prop a foot on the bed and Ashley would walk onto his foot, down his shin to his knee and then JUMP onto Mike's stomach! Ooooofff! He would sit up, and she would climb up his shirt and walk across the bridge (his arm) back to the bed where she would actually look for his foot to repeat the game.

Sadly, Sabrina got very ill in April '07 and we took her to see the vet. She was too ill to get better, and we chose to let her go. We had a little funeral in the back yard. It was quite an experience for Jason, Ryan and Megan.

We didn't feel it would be fair to Ashley to introduce a strange rat to keep her company, so we proceeded to pay her extra attention and just spoiled her rotten. Ashley began to show her age too, and would have some bad days - but then just as quickly, she would perk up and go back to being her spoiled self!

Ashley was so funny! All we had to do was walk into Jason's room and she would come running to the side of the cage next to where we keep her food and treats. She was shameless! Reaching those little paws and arms through the wire of the cage grabbing and begging for treats!

Over the recent Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, Mike deboned some turkey with his fingers, and then decided to take a piece of turkey to Ashley a.k.a. DeeDee. He calls "Dee-Dee....you want some turkey?" Ashley came scurrying to the open door of the cage and got a sniff of that turkey and tried to snatch it from Mike - the only thing is that she couldn't tell his fingers from the turkey and she tried to take his finger! It isn't that she was biting him - she just wanted to carry the turkey to where she could snack on it privately! LOL!

Anyway - yesterday - Ashley seemed pretty weak. I got a hand-towel and took her out of her cage after lunch and just loved on her, gently stroking her head. I know she loved it because she started chattering her teeth. A sure sign of contentment in a rat! Last evening, I took her out again in the hand towel and Jason sat with her for at least 45 minutes just stroking her head and ears. She chattered her teeth, and then settled down for a snooze. She was very weak, and could barely drink water that we offered her. We went to bed knowing that we might have to make a sad and difficult decision today.

God made that decision for us during the night. Ashley went to sleep peacefully and forever. Jason came down this morning to tell me that Ashley was gone. We will have a little burial service this afternoon and bury Ashley next to her friend Sabrina out in our back yard.

I know that Ashley knew we loved her. And more than that, we enjoyed Ashley and Sabrina both. They gave us enjoyment, laughter and fun for a little more than 2 years.

Thank you, Ashley and Sabrina. You were loved!