This is really hard for me to write...
As some of you may know, I took in a number of small animal fosters a couple of months ago. They came to me from a severe hoarding situation in which they were both neglected and abused. The police and humane society rescued upwards of 250 small animals (mainly hamsters, gerbils, mice, and rats) from a small studio apartment. The vast majority of animals had to be put down, but, thankfully, there were many who were able to be fostered and even adopted. I adopted my sweet Sampson (who many read about when he was going through a health crisis) and have taken in 2 other Syrian hamsters, 2 Robovorski dwarf hamsters, and 2 Chinese dwarf hamsters. And, I took in one very sick male gerbil who I named Luca. Sadly, this thread is for him...
Luca was a very sweet nutmeg-colored gerbil. He was estimated at approximately a year old and was very ill upon coming in to my home. When he was rescued, he was found to have been severely malnourished and dehydrated and the officials initially wanted to humanely euthanize him due to his situation. But, Luca was a fighter and improved greatly over the course of just one day -- taking him out of the immediate danger zone and allowing him to be put into foster. When I first met him, my heart broke. He had lost nearly all of his fur and he had no tail. He had been in a small tank (10 gallon) with at least 20 other gerbils where he was beat up on by others. His tail stump was infected and he had an abscess near his genital region. I took him in despite this -- I knew he would most likely not make it. But, Luca proved to be a fighter once again and he thrived for a time under my care. He gained weight, his fur grew, and his infections abated. But, Luca was never out of the woods.
Last week, I noticed that Luca had an odd swelling on his right rear foot. In just a day, it managed to swell to the point where he could not walk. It was obvious that he was in pain and the humane society took him back and took him to the vet for immediate treatment. I bundled the little sweetheart up and brought him to the shelter where they took excellent care of him. I knew I probably would never see my little foster boy again, but I knew he was being taken care of and that's all I ever really wanted for him. Well, today I got a phone call requesting that I come down to the shelter. Despite everything, Luca was in pain and suffering -- they decided it was time to let him pass. The treatments they gave for the new abscess were not working and he was losing weight quickly. He would mess himself because he could not walk to get away from where he eliminated. Seeing him was heartbreaking, but I was grateful to be able to say goodbye. This morning, at 9:47am, Luca went to play over the Rainbow Bridge.
To dear, sweet Luca: please know that you will be missed. I knew you only a short time, but I grew to love you. Your fighting spirit will live on. And, in honor of you, I have decided to adopt my existing fosters. I love you, wee one. Rest well.
As an aside, the person who was hoarding these precious animals and causing them harm is being held accountable for her actions. Little Luca will have justice and I'm happy to report that every animal that was taken in that could be fostered or rehomed has been. Out of a very sad situation has come hope and rebirth -- for all involved...
As some of you may know, I took in a number of small animal fosters a couple of months ago. They came to me from a severe hoarding situation in which they were both neglected and abused. The police and humane society rescued upwards of 250 small animals (mainly hamsters, gerbils, mice, and rats) from a small studio apartment. The vast majority of animals had to be put down, but, thankfully, there were many who were able to be fostered and even adopted. I adopted my sweet Sampson (who many read about when he was going through a health crisis) and have taken in 2 other Syrian hamsters, 2 Robovorski dwarf hamsters, and 2 Chinese dwarf hamsters. And, I took in one very sick male gerbil who I named Luca. Sadly, this thread is for him...
Luca was a very sweet nutmeg-colored gerbil. He was estimated at approximately a year old and was very ill upon coming in to my home. When he was rescued, he was found to have been severely malnourished and dehydrated and the officials initially wanted to humanely euthanize him due to his situation. But, Luca was a fighter and improved greatly over the course of just one day -- taking him out of the immediate danger zone and allowing him to be put into foster. When I first met him, my heart broke. He had lost nearly all of his fur and he had no tail. He had been in a small tank (10 gallon) with at least 20 other gerbils where he was beat up on by others. His tail stump was infected and he had an abscess near his genital region. I took him in despite this -- I knew he would most likely not make it. But, Luca proved to be a fighter once again and he thrived for a time under my care. He gained weight, his fur grew, and his infections abated. But, Luca was never out of the woods.
Last week, I noticed that Luca had an odd swelling on his right rear foot. In just a day, it managed to swell to the point where he could not walk. It was obvious that he was in pain and the humane society took him back and took him to the vet for immediate treatment. I bundled the little sweetheart up and brought him to the shelter where they took excellent care of him. I knew I probably would never see my little foster boy again, but I knew he was being taken care of and that's all I ever really wanted for him. Well, today I got a phone call requesting that I come down to the shelter. Despite everything, Luca was in pain and suffering -- they decided it was time to let him pass. The treatments they gave for the new abscess were not working and he was losing weight quickly. He would mess himself because he could not walk to get away from where he eliminated. Seeing him was heartbreaking, but I was grateful to be able to say goodbye. This morning, at 9:47am, Luca went to play over the Rainbow Bridge.
To dear, sweet Luca: please know that you will be missed. I knew you only a short time, but I grew to love you. Your fighting spirit will live on. And, in honor of you, I have decided to adopt my existing fosters. I love you, wee one. Rest well.
As an aside, the person who was hoarding these precious animals and causing them harm is being held accountable for her actions. Little Luca will have justice and I'm happy to report that every animal that was taken in that could be fostered or rehomed has been. Out of a very sad situation has come hope and rebirth -- for all involved...
