As usual at the end of the year, the seniors at schools are always playing pranks. However, this time around a few senior boys at Emma's school came up with a prank that wasn't very funny at all. During their lunch hour they drove to a pet store and bought Peanut and I as well as about 15 little while mice. Then they came back to the school and went to the commons where everyone else was still eating lunch. They sat down at their lunch table for a few minutes, but then they started to let me, Peanut, and the mice loose in the commons. At first they just released us and I got away ok. But then, they started THROWING the mice and Peanut got thrown too.

Emma and her friends started catching some of the mice while teachers started running into the lunch room. One of the biology teachers was the first one there and she was horrified. The boys were being so cruel to us! Throwing us around like that! Peanut and I got caught and put outside along with a few mice before Emma and her friends could get to us. But then Emma and one other girl insisted on going outside to catch us, knowing that we couldn't survive out there. The other girl started putting the mice in a cage while Emma picked up me and Peanut and carried us in her arms until the biology teacher found a cage for us to stay in. Emma never did get to finish her lunch that day.

After school Artie came to pick Emma up from school and Peanut and I came home with them since the biology teacher knew that Abby already lived with them and they could care for us. The mice went home with other kids, but I don't know what ever happened to them. When Emma called her Mom from school, she told her Mom that she was bringing home 2 or 3 mice. Was she ever surprised to see us!

After Peanut and I got settled in our brand new cage that Emma and Artie went right out and bought, we all started to notice that Peanut was having some troubles walking, moving around, and keeping his balance. When he was thrown by those boys, he hurt his head and basically ended up with the rat version of cerebral palsy. He never grew as much as I did and I tried to play with him, but he had a hard time. His favorite toy was one that Emma hung from the ceiling of the cage. He could grab onto it and swing around a bit without really losing his balance.

Things were tough for Peanut, but he was doing pretty good. Emma and Artie always took good care of us. When Emma would pick him up, she always made sure to hold him up against her with both hands so he wouldn't fall when he wiggled around. (I wiggle around when I get held too, but Peanut didn't have enough muscle control to keep from falling.) After about two months, in August of 1998, Peanut took a turn for the worse. Emma stayed up almost that whole night and into the morning trying to make him more confortable and giving him water to drink with an eyedropper. Peanut died late the next morning.

Poor little guy... may he rest in peace.

Editor's Note:

On Saturday, April 29, 2000, Snoopy was put to sleep ending a battle with a quickly growing, malignant, mammary tumor. The size and location of the growth began to interfere with his normal ratty life as he could no longer walk without difficulty in addition to his losing weight. He died peacefully after being treated to one last, juicy grape.

-Emma

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