Ode to good pets

The following post is cheesy, sentimental and depressing. Some may be touched, some may be grossed out. At the risk of sounding selfish, this is my blog, not yours. And this is something I feel the need to post.

Almost 2 years ago, I adopted 2 baby rats (they were born in April and I adopted them in May.) They were sisters and I named them Sugar and Cookie (cheesy, I know.) Sugar had smooth tan hair and Cookie had rough (curly) white hair with tan spots. Since I didn't have my own child, their purpose was to be my "babies" and to keep me company. They were so sweet and brought me so much joy and happiness. They were "dumbo" rats - they had extra big ears! Their favorite food was cream cheese. They came when called and loved when I let them out of their cage so they could run around. One time, Cookie pushed open the cage, walked out, climbed up on my bed and sniffed my face, waking me up. The funny thing was, it was exactly one minute before my alarm was scheduled to go off. I thought it was so cute! About a year ago, Cookie developed a tumor (very typical with rats) and Sugar developed one a few months later. They were still very active even though their tumors grew at an alarming rate. On December 30, 2008, I came home to find Sugar had passed away. Even though Cookie was sicker longer, Sugar's tumor grew much faster. I was left with only Cookie and she was so good to me. In the last couple weeks, she grew weaker and weaker and I expected her to go anytime. (Actually, I had been expecting her to go for months and was surprised when Sugar went first.) I knew it was time to let her go since I was having a harder time taking care of her because of my pregnancy and our move coming up. Also, she was in so much pain that I knew she would be better off in rat heaven with Sugar. So, yesterday I prayed that I would be able to let her go. This morning I woke up and went to see her. She was sitting upright, but she wasn't moving and her breathing was very shallow. I knew that she would be leaving today. So, I took her out of her cage and just held her and stroked her for almost 2 hours until she finally went to rat heaven. Sugar and Cookie fulfilled their purpose and then went home. Bye bye, Sugar and Cookie. I'll miss you.

Brand new babies (Sugar and Cookie are in there someplace)

What they looked like when I brought them home

The following are the pictures I've taken since January 2008:

Jadis meeting the rats for the first time

Cookie is pushing Sugar out of the way

A basket of rats!

Close-up

Sugar and Cookie

They loved to chew on the bars, especially when they wanted food

Cookie

They look like they're praying

Lounging on a hot summer day

Cookie resting on Sugar

For some reason, Cookie put up with Sugar sitting on her

Cookie taking a bath

One of my favorite pics of Cookie

They slept like this frequently

"Can we have a snack?"

So cute!

Balls of fur

"Hi, Mom!"

Sugar resting her head on Cookie

Big dumbo ears

Cookie stuck her head through one of the holes in the laundry basket

They loved cheese

Having a snack

Another comfy nap

I caught a picture of Sugar's tongue

Here is the last picture taken of Sugar (in the back)

Cookie cuddling in a blanket

I think she's eating a rice snack

A tortilla chip is a big job for a little rat

Here is the last picture taken of Cookie

Sugar and Cookie's burial ground (taken a day later than this post is dated, after the "funeral")

Here are some of my favorite videos of Sugar and Cookie. They're mostly boring, but I like them.

Playing with my pants

Eating marshmallows

Playing with a paper while watching conference

I loved listening to them chew. And please excuse Douglas' random outburst at the end :)

Running around on the bed

Begging for my lunch

Eating cheese

Eating carrots

Taking a bath

Cookie exploring

Eating cheetos