Rusty has an unfortunate habit of peeing illegally and sleeping or playing in the piddle .
I had to bring him to the vet as he developed bare patches on his lovely fur . No doubt from his bad habit . This was on the 16th Of July 2003 .
His majesty was ordered on a diet .
30th July 2004 : Rusty remains UNtoilet trained . I usually find in the toilet : his favourite seeds and only OCCASIONALLY a spot of pee .
24th april 2005:
Im feeling sad as Rusty nears the end of his expected lifespan. Hes just passed two years of age
29th sept goodbye rusty
Rusty has passed on he died last night . There had been signs of age coming on .He was just afew days short of 30 mths .. about 2.5 years.He will be sadly missed
As he came into old age he lost a tooth . And we had to cut up all his food . Down his last legs he developed a hard lump at the side of his head . I decided against visiting the vet as i ddint think he could be helped . We made him comfortable and gave him what he wanted .
Towards the end he lost all interest in food except for chicken rice ( a local delicacy ) , rice porridge and sunflower seeds .. peoples food basically
He had a rubbish chute burial . I woke DD to let her hold him one last time then he had to be disposed of . The land below is state land and we have been told we cant bury any animals there .
Sunday, October 02, 2005
autobiography : rusty
where am I going ? the big hand just picked me up and put me in a carrier with many of my tankmates .a lady peeps over us . I sense im on some kind of a bridge
i get picked out and flipped over . male said the new voice. IM transferred into a small critter carrier .
my new home is cool . space to sleep a wheel to myself and lots of seeds .
months pass and a voice exclaims that I did a no no by playing with my piddle . why shouldnt I .I like smelling like the bathroom
The vet says Im obese . HAH ! thats why miss he gets pee trapped in his skin folds where it can cause irritation
because of this new discovery i get cleaned out with swabs and a cool liquid from a bottle
This goes on and on .
Time passes and I no longer jump at the sound of a hand coming at me . I have learnt that that hand means a treat or a cotton swab is awaiting me and i will take my chances anytime
I dont feel so good now . Im getting stiff and my back legs arent as strong
One day I discover that my top teeth are out of alignment and one is about to fall off .
Hammy seeds are now yukky because they make my teeth hurt. Thankfully the big hand feeds me porridge and chicken rice . I also have a stash of cut up seeds but i seldom touch those now
Im getting very tired . Some days I feel like I want to sleep and not wake up
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PS : Rusty has since passed on and gone to the rainbow bridge . I miss him alot
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
a dream : on rainbow bridge
On rainbow bridge a ham revisits
Now this just about broke my heart .DD woke crying . she said she’d had a nightmare
In her dream Our Hamster that just passed on ( Rusty) visited her and spoke with her . Mommy I have never heard his voice before .
She said he was happy now and described the dream . Then just as she was about to wake she said , Rusty told her he had to go because his family was waiting for him . Sweetheart , Darling , Tim all the hammies we had owned before .Rusty looked happy and fatter than he was at his death .
We had a long chat about death . Both of us were crying . I quoted something from my favourite little house books . I cant promise you a life free from pain. Sorrow and Joy are both part of life , and life is what you choose to make of it .You could opt to NOT keep hamsters and therefore not feel the pain of death . But if you choose to keep them because you know you will love them , then you have to be prepared to have your heart broken every two years or so
I said nai nai ( mil) would never understand . Shes one of those that will tell you don’t cry ( she means well ) and we have to respect that but I feel sorrow should be released . Keeping it in makes you unhappy and there is no reason to make everyone else unhappy by being rude
I said that some people believe that when an animal dies it goes to the rainbow bridge . There it is happy and becomes whole again
Shes gone back to bed now and my heart is heavy . Im missing Flower and Rusty like you’d never know how .. but Im glad I have Elf and Baby to love
There are those who detest Puddings because they are hybrids . But Id never turn downa lovely just because its mixed
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