My Heart Is Aching For All Of You, And For Myself, Losing all of my loves Options

[mosmommy]

I guess most of you have not heard from me before, and the rest of you haven't seen any posts from me in a long while.
I haven't felt like sharing any thoughts or pain lately.

On May 21, 2008- I lost my mouse Gordon. The only comfort was that he was not just my furkid, but he was a huge part of the nature program that I worked on last summer, and for over 9 weeks last summer, he touched hundreds of children. He was their favorite animal in the room. ( We also had a snake, a small lizard, 2 toads, 2 crayfish, a red-eared slider turtle, a rabbit, and a few local fish). All were used for educational and compassionate teachings, and all were released back into the wild with the exception of the lizard and rabbit who were adopted, and the turtle and Gordon. I know Gordon served a great purpose, and he also visited a local elementary science club that I did some volunteer presentations for in the fall of '07. The children loved him as much as I did. Mice can have short life spans, but he accomplished a lot in his.

I lost my beloved 15 1/2 year old cat, Rufus on March 1, 2008, and that has been very painful. I raised him form a kitten, and he slept with me all of the time, even during short "cat" naps. I still find it hard to wake up and not have him here.

Now a quick bit of background, I have lost 23 furry children, 8 close humans, and a few acquaintances- all since May 2004.
I am not sure how I still get up everyday, but I keep on trying.

I am so sorry for those of you with recent and painful loss(es) to handle, I do know how hard it is. I honestly cannot say that it gets easier, but the memories do get better.

Thank you to any and all who read this topic.

Peace, Love, and Prayers,
Michelle

This is my Rufus...

Attached image(s)

 

[Duncan-MyBuddy]

Jon730 wrote,
I think when an animal is "Promoted" to a friend status, it's not an animal any more,

Jon, i agree with that whole-heartedly and a lot else you've mentioned.
In my reply note i specifically went out of my way and even quoted the word 'wild' mice. No doubt a wild mouse or other creature could become a pet of some kind and you are correct in that would put it in an etirely different category ..... definitely not the pest category.

mosmomy,
i'm sorry you were offended by my post but this is not a perfect world we live in...this is just the way it is.
I realize you have sincere compassion for mice as pets and thats your choice which i respect.

However, one man's pet is another man's pest or food.
If you had lets say a goat or a chicken as a pet, how would you feel about those species being slaughtered by the thousands for human consumption?

As a dog lover myself:
They eat dog and cat meat in some countries...do i like that concept?...absolutely not!
Animal shelters legally kill thousands of stray dogs and cats....do i like that concept?...absolutely not!
Geuss what i'm trying to say is that we have to keep things in relative perspective.

To humanely trap or use repellants for hundreds of mice out in the country is just not practical IMO. I initially did try using those electronic mice repellers in the barn and they just don't work there. However, i do use one in my garage and it does seem to work there as i've got unsprung traps sitting there for months now.

-Ken

[mosmommy]

Jon, i agree with that whole-heartedly and a lot else you've mentioned.
In my reply note i specifically went out of my way and even quoted the word 'wild' mice. No doubt a wild mouse or other creature could become a pet of some kind and you are correct in that would put it in an etirely different category ..... definitely not the pest category.

mosmomy,
i'm sorry you were offended by my post but this is not a perfect world we live in...this is just the way it is.
I realize you have sincere compassion for mice as pets and thats your choice which i respect.

However, one man's pet is another man's pest or food.
If you had lets say a goat or a chicken as a pet, how would you feel about those species being slaughtered by the thousands for human consumption?

As a dog lover myself:
They eat dog and cat meat in some countries...do i like that concept?...absolutely not!
Animal shelters legally kill thousands of stray dogs and cats....do i like that concept?...absolutely not!
Geuss what i'm trying to say is that we have to keep things in relative perspective.

To humanely trap or use repellants for hundreds of mice out in the country is just not practical IMO. I initially did try using those electronic mice repellers in the barn and they just don't work there. However, i do use one in my garage and it does seem to work there as i've got unsprung traps sitting there for months now.

-Ken

So to this, I have to say that the words about 'status' or 'promotion' are just words that humans use to rationalize their love of some animals, and not others.

As for the talk of slaughtering, shelter kills, or cultural differences about what animals are consumed, I am also not happy about any of it. What I do not do, is come in here to post after doing that kind of job at the SPCA, or having someone who did slaughter and or eat one (or more) of the animals that we have all loved and lost, come in here to offer sympathy, and then discuss their meal or day's work in that post.
Am I wrong? I don't think so.

This world is a terrible place with terrible things happening, but there is a time and place for discussions of all things, you just have to be sure to use the right place at the right time.