My Baby, Geno
by Draya
(Chicago)
He was my biggest sweetie, but he’d been sick before. I took him to the vet a month ago for a sickness he couldn’t quite recover from, only he was misdiagnosed and given the wrong medicine. Not trusting the vet much, I took matters into my own hands and started natural treatment until amoxicillin could arrive. I strongly believe he had pneumonia. I steamed him in hot showers, hand-fed him and had him drinking from a dropper. I would mash his foods and peel things so he could eat them. He lost tons of weight and was barely active. The amoxicillin came a little late and I started him up on that immediately, closely following instruction from an expert who’d had rats for years. He was supposed to start to improve over a few days, but on the contrary he became worse until he couldn’t even stand. And then he just died. His breathing went from very heavy to shallow and I lost him. I’m going to miss him so badly.
This little sweetheart always came when I called his name during playtime and he stuck to me like glue. Until the very end, he didn’t want me to put him back in the cage. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him, and I don’t want to sleep. People overlook these animals so often, I doubt anyone would understand that this pain is just as bad as losing any other loved pet, whether it lives long or not. He didn’t deserve this.
I love you Geno, and I hope to see you again someday.