Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 13:42:36 GMT -5
It has been two years since my little Rafiki passed. I still cry every time I think about him, and today I stumbled upon some old pictures of him and just broke down, so I decided that maybe making a memorial post about him might help.
When I was a teen still in high school I met a friend who was involved in a local rescue program (she was in her mid 20's - I always had older friends growing up). At the time I had only two girls of my own, but like with my ferret, I was a frequenter on some sugar glider forums and did a lot of research on them on a daily basis.
One day, said friend had informed me of a post on Craigslist she had found. It was a woman who had bought a good dozen or so gliders for breeding purposes and discovered soon after that she had no time or interest in them. My friend and I drove a good 3 hours to meet her, and ended up picking every single on the gliders up, we were able to talk her into giving them to us for free, as we could provide a very good home, with vet care if she did. At least she had the heart to do that much...We split them between us, and when we took them home, we discovered a lot of problems that she failed to mention. Most if them were not socialized, were aggressive towards us, had very unhealthy looking coats, and stunk to the high heavens. Upon further investigation my friend found out that the woman had been feeding them "whatever" she had on hand. Some days this was some apple slices or yogurt, other days it was cheerios. (For those that don't know much about gliders: their diets need very high amounts of protein, much like a ferret, with a variety of fruits and vegetables)
The gliders I had taken in included a bonded breeding pair that consisted of a leucistic male and a pregnant white faced female (the woman didn't even know she was pregnant!), I also took in a pair of standard greys, and a BEAUTIFUL platinum mosaic female that she hadn't even named. The white faced female's name was Flower, and the glider she was pregnant with ended up being my Rafiki.
I had no intention of keeping the gliders, as I still lived with my parents and they weren't very happy with me having so many animals. I was given permission to keep them long enough to get them socialized and healthy enough to go to forever homes, however.
But when Rafiki came OOP (out of pouch) I felt an instant bond and couldn't let him go. He eventually stayed with me after the rest of the rescues found very good homes (after they all got fixed and a good bill of health), I took my time adjusting him to my females, and they always got along, almost no quarreling ever. He moved in with them and stayed there for about 8 months, again, no problems.
Then one day I came home from school to find the most horrific and traumatizing thing I have ever witnessed. The girls were tearing his skin off his hind legs. I quickly pulled him out of the cage and put him in a carrying pouch and had my parents rush us to the emergency vet. Even on the ride there I knew what his fate would be. The vet repeated my thoughts and told me that even if he did survive the blood loss, the chance of him surviving without an infection and the pain he would feel gave him a small chance of survival. She insisted that it was in his best interest to agree to euthanization and put him out of the suffering...Which I reluctantly did. I cried for days after that, it was by far the most painful pet loss I have ever experienced.
So here's to my sweet, lovable, cuddling fuzz butt. I love you Rafiki and I am so sorry I put you in such a horrible situation. I will never forgive myself for what happened, but I hope you're gliding freely across the bridge.
Some pictures of Rafiki and his fellow rescues...(this is probably very pic heavy...)
Flower and Pheonix, his parents. Flower still has him in her pouch in this pic.
Rafiki, his first day OOP.
Rafiki and Flower.
He used to love sleeping in my hand.
He was very well socialized, love to eat in my hands.
Trinity, the platinum mosaic beauty. (Named for the white 3 on her nape)
When I was a teen still in high school I met a friend who was involved in a local rescue program (she was in her mid 20's - I always had older friends growing up). At the time I had only two girls of my own, but like with my ferret, I was a frequenter on some sugar glider forums and did a lot of research on them on a daily basis.
One day, said friend had informed me of a post on Craigslist she had found. It was a woman who had bought a good dozen or so gliders for breeding purposes and discovered soon after that she had no time or interest in them. My friend and I drove a good 3 hours to meet her, and ended up picking every single on the gliders up, we were able to talk her into giving them to us for free, as we could provide a very good home, with vet care if she did. At least she had the heart to do that much...We split them between us, and when we took them home, we discovered a lot of problems that she failed to mention. Most if them were not socialized, were aggressive towards us, had very unhealthy looking coats, and stunk to the high heavens. Upon further investigation my friend found out that the woman had been feeding them "whatever" she had on hand. Some days this was some apple slices or yogurt, other days it was cheerios. (For those that don't know much about gliders: their diets need very high amounts of protein, much like a ferret, with a variety of fruits and vegetables)
The gliders I had taken in included a bonded breeding pair that consisted of a leucistic male and a pregnant white faced female (the woman didn't even know she was pregnant!), I also took in a pair of standard greys, and a BEAUTIFUL platinum mosaic female that she hadn't even named. The white faced female's name was Flower, and the glider she was pregnant with ended up being my Rafiki.
I had no intention of keeping the gliders, as I still lived with my parents and they weren't very happy with me having so many animals. I was given permission to keep them long enough to get them socialized and healthy enough to go to forever homes, however.
But when Rafiki came OOP (out of pouch) I felt an instant bond and couldn't let him go. He eventually stayed with me after the rest of the rescues found very good homes (after they all got fixed and a good bill of health), I took my time adjusting him to my females, and they always got along, almost no quarreling ever. He moved in with them and stayed there for about 8 months, again, no problems.
Then one day I came home from school to find the most horrific and traumatizing thing I have ever witnessed. The girls were tearing his skin off his hind legs. I quickly pulled him out of the cage and put him in a carrying pouch and had my parents rush us to the emergency vet. Even on the ride there I knew what his fate would be. The vet repeated my thoughts and told me that even if he did survive the blood loss, the chance of him surviving without an infection and the pain he would feel gave him a small chance of survival. She insisted that it was in his best interest to agree to euthanization and put him out of the suffering...Which I reluctantly did. I cried for days after that, it was by far the most painful pet loss I have ever experienced.
So here's to my sweet, lovable, cuddling fuzz butt. I love you Rafiki and I am so sorry I put you in such a horrible situation. I will never forgive myself for what happened, but I hope you're gliding freely across the bridge.
Some pictures of Rafiki and his fellow rescues...(this is probably very pic heavy...)
Flower and Pheonix, his parents. Flower still has him in her pouch in this pic.
Rafiki, his first day OOP.
Rafiki and Flower.
He used to love sleeping in my hand.
He was very well socialized, love to eat in my hands.
Trinity, the platinum mosaic beauty. (Named for the white 3 on her nape)