Lilspaz Rat Hospice: Leela

Leela - July 10, 2010 to July 9, 2012

After almost a lifetime of abject fear, and biting, and blood shed on my part, my little halfie girls are working it out. As of this morning I have pts one (Mae) last week, 2 have URI's (a nice girl Jennie and Elsie my extreme fear biter, but both let me medicate them), and poor Leela is being pts this morning. They made it to 2 years old with nary a sneeze between them and only Mae's early growth mammary tumours were a problem.

Leela, was one of my most shy and was very fearful. I sadly don't get to handle and palpate my halfies like I do my domestics so when I saw her on Saturday and pulled her out...I was shocked. It looks like she had an abdominal tumour that lay in wait for awhile then erupted. I carefully look at these girls every day but must've missed the signs since she often hid. Suffice it to say that I knew there was nothing I could do for her but manage her pain.

I noticed while I was holding her and patting her that she didn't seem to mind much anymore, almost like a switch had gone off. I put her back in her cage but she lay in the front and just looked at me as I patted her (carefully because the others still will bite).

So later on that day after letting the metacam do its work for a few hours, I let her out on the bed and tried to give her a more special time on her last day. It worked and was good for her and especially for me. She was approaching me and climbing on me and I even got a couple of random licks.

Leela will be going to my vet this morning, and gently let go to join her gentle sister Mae. She is on the bed again eating baby cereal, and she already has had her ears rubbed with rescue remedy to take the edge off I hope.

She was the most darling baby, a very obvious one with her white marking going up behind her left shoulder.

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