Emma 2

Emma - ??? - Aug. 20, 2016

Emma was a young but old nakie girl from Montreal. She was one of the many many rats dumped in Dorval, Quebec like garbage. We are pretty sure they were dumped by yet another backyard breeder. My wonderful friend Victoria who lived in the area, ended up going there on a Friday night (as soon as SHE was informed) even though the rats had been dumped a week and a half prior. She and another rescue friend were able to catch a few wily rats that were smart enough to be more fearful of humans. The friendly rats initially were killed or poisoned by exterminators that the neighbours had called.  She was messaging me and told me she had seen a pair of nakies but they were in bad shape. Later on she couldn't fjnd them anymore, and it was getting dark and they were going to have to leave.  Suddenly I get a very excited message "I GOT THE NAKIES!" lol
She sent me pics of them from that first night and they looked scratched up, the female only had one eye and a huge puss-y lump on her right hip (no that's NOT her leg)

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the male and her were very bonded and he was also protective of her, so we got him neutered by Vic's excellent vet (my first abdominal neuter!) so they could always be together. The little lady had her lump drained, her eye flushed, and the male also had an abscess on his neck drained. Vic took care of this little pair for me and Emma's lump was healing beautifully

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Through a crazy effort a rescue transport group ended up bringing my many Montreal rats to me on June 15, 2016. Soon after they arrived I noticed shy Emma's incision where the original lump was drained would leak pus when she was lifted up. Then a huge swelling developed and the fun really began. She was taken to my vet clinic but my old vet was gone, and a locum was taking care of the exotics. She poked a small hole in the incision and was able to flush out some pus, but wanted to see her again for a further more intensive exploratory. So the next week she went back and the vet opened a slighly bigger hole and got more pus out BUT unfortunately this was not from the large lump sticking out of her side, that was determined not to be an abscess. Sigh. I paid my money and went home and waited for the abscess to surface, which it did when I was up at my Moms so I took care of her up there. The pics are very grody so I am not going to include them except the one that told me it was going to open up soon.

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She was a super patient patient..hehe...understanding that I was trying to help her, and we did our very best but I think it healed over with some bacteria/matter still inside and I knew it would be back. And it did, worse than ever. I felt 4 lumps deep inside her body as well as the original one leaking pus again. She was still happy, playful and sweet as heck, healthy except these horrible lumps that could kill her. They really needed surgical intervention but the only vet who could do this had left.  On a Saturday the top lump burst and pus drained out and she deflated a little, unfortunately I think that an internal abscess also burst so within a day or so she was septic and died in my arms. I was devastated...her boyfriend Gilbert was devastated. I railed at the world for awhile, she was SUPPOSED to have a long happy life after the misery she endured (all her abscesses and eye issues were from her prior "life") so I felt I failed her. I know we did our best but there was too much stacked against us. I love you little miss one-eye sweet thang. We miss you terribly  Gilbert is fine, being rude to other rats...one day I'll find him another girl he can protect.