Bongo Fury Rattery
Iris Krell
I am absolutely heartbroken to announce that little Iris
Krell has finally made her journey to the bridge. She was 2
years and 6 months old (roughly) and we are heartbroken.
Iris was a magical little rat. I went to pick her up from a rescue centre, and was allowed to choose from all the dumbo babies that were available... I chose Judee, a gorgeous topaz, and Iris. I chose Iris because she had the most expressive eyes, and she was lying quietly with her front paws clasped, like a little old lady :*) I thought she was utterly adorable and couldn't resist. She was always extremely tiny - but had a heart 200 times her small size. Never has a rat in this house been more human. She understood us on a level I can't quite reach. Iris came to her first show in Leeds when she was a young thing. She was our shoulder rat for the day, Colin showed us how to clip claws with Iris as his demonstration model And she was so good and sat still for him... but afterwards she found it hard to grip or walk, and kept taking little tiptoe steps around the place because her toes felt weird! No rat I've ever had has done that. Iris was a rather special little rat as I'm sure you all know :*) She won so many hearts. We took her to Boscombe Down show in 2006 and she won Best Adult Owned Pet Doe, 2nd Adult Owned Pet, 2 Pet Challenges and Sweetest Smelling Doe, I was so proud of her, she deserved it so well.
I'm sure many people here will remember the Aunty Iris stories? :) I had so many pms and emails saying how people loved them, and could we please do more!? Iris loved doing those, she had so much fun exploring all the toys etc, however she was getting on by the time I started doing them, and we had to retire her as she no longer enjoyed doing them, she just used to sit till and shiver, I wasn't going to put my special little girl through that. She lived a happy retirement for the last few months, just lazing in her hammock or igloo - nothing she enjoyed more.
Iris was also an obsessive bar spinner. That stopped the last month or so, so I knew this time was coming. :( She used to stash food, but not like any other rat. She'd get a piece from her bowl, run to the top of the cage, climb the bars to the roof, spin in a circle once on the roof, drop onto her ledge, bounce to the lower half of the cage (our cage was a homebuilt one with two halves, upper and lower), where she was jump from one ledge to the other, climb the bars, spin once on the roof, bounce back to the previous ledge, climb down the bars to the lower ledge, and stash the food underneath, where her cagemates would be waiting to steal it :*) God bless my special little madam.
We were sure she would be the first to go - she was always quite unhealthy, despite her spriteliness. She always had one respiratory problem or another. However, she lasted so well, and she saw so many good friends pass on before her. I just hope they're all waiting for her now, because I know she'd wait for them :*) and she's going to wait for all her current cage mates.
I really do feel broken now... like I've lost a little chunk of myself :(
run free marvellous girl, go and find judee, julie, merryl, stella, chloe, ratclyffe, drumbo and anyone else you've lived with, even for the shortest time, because even if as a cage you didn't all get on, you as an individual got on with everyone, or tried to. :*) Goodbye special old girl.
Iris was a magical little rat. I went to pick her up from a rescue centre, and was allowed to choose from all the dumbo babies that were available... I chose Judee, a gorgeous topaz, and Iris. I chose Iris because she had the most expressive eyes, and she was lying quietly with her front paws clasped, like a little old lady :*) I thought she was utterly adorable and couldn't resist. She was always extremely tiny - but had a heart 200 times her small size. Never has a rat in this house been more human. She understood us on a level I can't quite reach. Iris came to her first show in Leeds when she was a young thing. She was our shoulder rat for the day, Colin showed us how to clip claws with Iris as his demonstration model And she was so good and sat still for him... but afterwards she found it hard to grip or walk, and kept taking little tiptoe steps around the place because her toes felt weird! No rat I've ever had has done that. Iris was a rather special little rat as I'm sure you all know :*) She won so many hearts. We took her to Boscombe Down show in 2006 and she won Best Adult Owned Pet Doe, 2nd Adult Owned Pet, 2 Pet Challenges and Sweetest Smelling Doe, I was so proud of her, she deserved it so well.
I'm sure many people here will remember the Aunty Iris stories? :) I had so many pms and emails saying how people loved them, and could we please do more!? Iris loved doing those, she had so much fun exploring all the toys etc, however she was getting on by the time I started doing them, and we had to retire her as she no longer enjoyed doing them, she just used to sit till and shiver, I wasn't going to put my special little girl through that. She lived a happy retirement for the last few months, just lazing in her hammock or igloo - nothing she enjoyed more.
Iris was also an obsessive bar spinner. That stopped the last month or so, so I knew this time was coming. :( She used to stash food, but not like any other rat. She'd get a piece from her bowl, run to the top of the cage, climb the bars to the roof, spin in a circle once on the roof, drop onto her ledge, bounce to the lower half of the cage (our cage was a homebuilt one with two halves, upper and lower), where she was jump from one ledge to the other, climb the bars, spin once on the roof, bounce back to the previous ledge, climb down the bars to the lower ledge, and stash the food underneath, where her cagemates would be waiting to steal it :*) God bless my special little madam.
We were sure she would be the first to go - she was always quite unhealthy, despite her spriteliness. She always had one respiratory problem or another. However, she lasted so well, and she saw so many good friends pass on before her. I just hope they're all waiting for her now, because I know she'd wait for them :*) and she's going to wait for all her current cage mates.
I really do feel broken now... like I've lost a little chunk of myself :(
run free marvellous girl, go and find judee, julie, merryl, stella, chloe, ratclyffe, drumbo and anyone else you've lived with, even for the shortest time, because even if as a cage you didn't all get on, you as an individual got on with everyone, or tried to. :*) Goodbye special old girl.
Something that is gone
Something that is gone
Something that I had just yesterday
but where I must have laid it
I really couldn't say
Something that was right
but now is wrong
Something that is gone
Something that I lost
Something that I lost
Something that I cradled in my hand
Something rather special
that pertained to all my plans
I'm left here wondering what on earth it was
Something that I lost
Something that I missed
Something that I missed
I've looked all around my room
but it's not here
How can a thing of permanence
so swiftly disappear ?
Something is the cause of all of this
Something that I missed