Author Topic: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014  (Read 1932 times)

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Offline DeeDee

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In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« on: April 19, 2014, 03:16:38 PM »

Unfortunately, I have sad news to bring today. Nibblet, our little pet rat has passed away overnight last night. I went to check on her this morning, saw her laying peacefully on her side and knew that she had crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

I knew her time was coming. The last few days her breathing was becoming more and more labored. She wasn't eating much of anything. I was giving her baby food and whatever else I could think of that she would like to eat. She lost a lot of weight too. She just wanted me to hold her and take her out of her cage all the time. Her passing was not a surprise, and I expected it to come soon.

She became ill almost a month ago with an ear infection which caused her to be disoriented as well as a respiratory infection, which are common in rats. I took her to the vet then and have been medicating her since. After about a week, we switched to new medications because the others didn't seem to be doing the trick.

Still, I know she lived a happy life and I am glad to have had the chance to have her in my life, even if for a short while. She was just the sweetest little pet I've probably ever had. Maybe even sweeter than my dog. In her younger years, she was very curious always running around exploring everything. She wasn't much to sit still in my lap for scratches and pets. As she got older, she was happy to sit with me and have me scratch her for as long as I would. If I stopped, she would nibble my fingers gently and nudge my thumb as if to tell me to keep going.

She was good friends with everyone she met and never bit anyone during her lifetime. She enjoyed playing with Shiner, my human baby, and my oldest daughter. Even my father admitted that she was a pretty cool little critter. When I first got Nibblet, he wanted nothing to do with her and kind of freaked out every time he saw her. He eventually got used to her scampering around on the counter tops. In the end, I think he kind of liked her.

I'm sure we will be getting more rat family members at some point when the time is right. Until then, I will never forget my first sweet pet rat. Rest in peace my love! Enjoy all the peas you can eat over at the Rainbow Bridge with all of our other friends over there!

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline AnnStaub

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Re: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2014, 03:35:00 PM »
Thank you Dee :) She is definitely missed. Her big mansion of a cage is empty and I still find myself looking at it when I pass by trying to see what Nibblet's up to out of habit.  I'll attach a photo of her sweet face here.

Offline DeeDee

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Re: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2014, 03:43:14 PM »
I never thought of rats as being able to show joy until I saw Nibblet.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Lola

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Re: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2014, 03:44:03 PM »
Ann, I am sorry for your loss.  ;(
Nibblet was pretty darn cute!  Thanks for sharing the pictures. 

« Last Edit: April 19, 2014, 03:46:28 PM by Lola »
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Offline AnnStaub

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Re: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2014, 10:41:48 PM »
It's just crazy how good she was. My 2 year old was pretty good with her, but the occasional tail pull would happen. When my 2 year old went up to her cage to look at her, she'd stick her hand in there sometimes to pet her. Even after getting her tail pulled by this girl before, she would just sit there so still and let my baby pet her for as long as she wanted to.

I felt so bad for my youngest daughter because when I took her body out of the cage, she ran over there to see what I was doing and saw her. I was trying to be sneaky. I told her something like "Nibblet's gotta go bye-bye" and let her say goodbye. I put her body in a paper bag to bury and my 2 year old just started bawling! She didn't come outside for the burial, but she was still crying when I came back inside. I think that was probably the saddest part about it.

The guy on Craigslist I contacted a while back just email me back today. We may get a pair tomorrow.

Offline DeeDee

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Re: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2014, 10:51:53 PM »
The guy on Craigslist I contacted a while back just email me back today. We may get a pair tomorrow.

I'm so glad to hear that for the girls' sake. I think it will help the youngest. They just don't completely understand at that age, and it's almost impossible to explain it to them, but they seem to recover quickly once a new one is there.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Middle Child

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Re: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2014, 07:21:24 AM »
I'm sorry for your loss Ann.  I know rats are wonderful intelligent animals, a forum I belong to used to have a very active small animal section and I got to know a lot of lovely ratties.

Offline Pookie

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Re: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2014, 04:47:52 PM »
grouphug grouphug grouphug  I'm so sorry.
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Offline Amber

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Re: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2014, 06:48:47 PM »
grouphug I'm so sorry about Nibblet. I know what a joy the little fluffballs can be, and I know how much it hurts.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2014, 06:50:40 PM by Amber »

Offline AnnStaub

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Re: In Memory of Ann Staub's Nibblet~~April 5, 2014
« Reply #9 on: April 21, 2014, 02:15:14 AM »
Thank you everyone.

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