Good bye little man it was fun

[Mistress of Rain]

Dudders was my cousin's prairie dog, who had lived to the rip age of 9 or 10... something that many that own them say they don't live to. I had known him since he was tiny and my cousin had gotten him to take around to class rooms with her other animals. he would ware a harniess and walk around on a leash. And At times would fall a sleep while you rubbed his belly.

He survived the monkey pox scare that happened and no vets would see his kind. (he had gotten a respiratory infection and my cousin just got the meds with out taking him in).

He got to the point to where he wasn't the friendly little man he was when he was younger...(wasn't friendly when he was in season but i don't blame him). Only my cousin and her boyfriend could be around him in the last few years. He would chatter and yell at any 'stranger' through the bars of his cage reffusing even a walnut from people he didn't know.

This summer he started losing weight and not eating his normal food, Kristen started trying other foods and what ever he would eat she would give him just wanted him to keep weight on... it came down to chicken, and eggs... and a few other things.

He finally passed away last night. I found out this morning, and it broke my heart. When I can get a few pictures I will post them here. i don't hear much of them being pets so i thought you all wouldn't mind knowing.  

[Mistress of Rain]

Yeah he was pretty awesome, his original name was Giggett, because they kind of had a wrong name theme going with many of the animals were she worked at. The female bermesse python was Julius Squeezer, that had a male lizard with a female name... and then they got Dudders....thought he was a she and gave her a girls name....

Then his balls 'dropped' and because apparent she wasn't a she. So when the center was sold she kept Dudders and she tired to keep Dar but no place she was moving to allowed the cat when they actually saw the dog crate he was in. (Dar was an African Serval)  

[Kipluck]

I have a few friends with prairie dogs on the exotic pet boards. They seem like great little guys. So sorry about Dudders. It sounds like he had a long and happy life, at least.  

[Mistress of Rain]

This summer it was kind of something you started to expect with him losing weight, but it is always hard. My cousin has lost animals before and she is in her 30's and was surprised how hard he was to lose.

Her dog she had moved out of the house and Alex still lived at the house and I took care of her for the most part, and went with my cousin to put down, and her cat Leo was 22ish when I rushed him to the vet's to go (though the vet had to do little to him). She hurt with both but I told her this is the first of her pet's that she had been around basically 24/7 of course it was going to hurt more. The animals she lost at the center were not truly her's so when the sloths or the bugs went it was sad but again the tight bond wasn't there.