Amy was a little girl that had suffered a lot of stress in a short amount of time when she arrived and we could see that she was going to be a tough cookie to crack.
Amy had lived for 6 months with her sister however 48 hours previous to her being surrendered to us her sister lost a battle with a severe respiratory infection that unfortunately was never treated in any way. Poor Amy was also dealing with a respiratory infection when she was surrendered to us with the telltale signs of heavy breathing, wheezing that could be heard from a distance and lethargy. Poor Amy was very stressed as she had watched her sister slowly and painfully suffer and then was with her sister when she died, all of us could understand Amy’s behavior as grieving is very normal for Rats.
I started treating Amy for her respiratory infection ASAP because I knew that she had been displaying these symptoms for a while and knew that I was on limited time with this little fighter. Amy was so small, the foods that she was being given were not appropriate for rats and she was not getting the nutrition she needed for growth and health. Amy was also a biter, she liked to snap and nip, had I not been able to move as quick as I did she would have done some damage but I was always one step ahead, although she reacted differently with men. We can not be sure why she accepted men but our guess is that because her owner was a teen girl we suspect men did not pose such a threat to her.
Amy went to the vet and it was confirmed that she was indeed suffering from a respiratory infection and we would need to continue to treat her for this until it cleared. Amy did not like this diagnosis as it meant she would have to continue taking the meds, like Rella she was not keen on that stuff that came from a syringe after the first couple of days.
Amy went into foster care (the same day that Rella and Merlin were adopted) with my parents and got some serious one on one time with my family. Amy slowly started trusting people enough to stop her nipping, Mum and Dad were making steady progress and we were all delighted when Amy started adding on some weight also. Amy was such a character, she had and still has “grabby hands”, Amy likes to put her arms out of the cage and grab whatever she can.
Amy’s behavior did a full turn and she loved being out with people, she was being spoilt rotten and loving all the attention. Amy eventually got better and was emotionally more stable and so ready to start her new life with an adoptive family. Amy needed friends like her to play with so we knew exactly where she would fit in as a family that we knew had been watching her journey and had fallen in love with her.
On the 2nd of August Amy was adopted by Peta to go and live with Rella and Merlin. We were so happy for this little girl but my parents found it very difficult to let Amy go as they had a special bond with her. They were her guardian angels and had it not been for their love, care and understanding Amy may never have gotten over her losses.
With thanks to Mum (Lynne) and Dad (Joe) for giving Amy the most precious gift anyone ever could….. Your Love.
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Adopoted 02 August 2008
I thought I would be alright just settling in with Merlin and Rella , until I saw little Amy.
Amy had only recently been surrendered to PRRR at the time I went to collect Merlin and Rella.
I had never seen a rat with her colour (in the flesh) and she was such a pretty little girl!
Such big beautiful brown eyes, brown mottled fur with a white stripe patch on her belly.
Just perfect for kissing.
At that particular time, she was still very cautious of humans and from what I had heard, a little bit on the nippy side.
Something that I completely saw through when I first met her! I think that sometimes you need to try and see past what reactions they are initially giving you and weigh that up with their history and how confused they must be at the time of being surrendered or rescued.
Most of the time, I believe that a lot of patience and understanding can conquer their initial lack of trust and fear. I most certainly believe that they at least, deserve the chance.
I followed Amy’s progress through the forum about what a wonderful job PRRR were doing with her and by the time she was ready for adoption, PRRR had notified me with the option to adopt her.
There was no doubt that I wanted to take her home too!
Merlin and Rella had spent a week in their cage together and were getting along just fine.
It was my husband that I had to get to agree to another. But as he was quite fond of them, getting him to agree was a lot easier than I thought!
So, I organized with PRRR to pick up Amy.
When the day came, Rella and Merlin came along too. It was nice that PRRR could see just how well these two were getting along and how well they were doing, considering all the hard work they put in to getting them to where they are today.
We decided to try socialization with all 3 the very next day.
It went better than expected, although there were some scuffles while they were trying to sort out who was going to be the boss.
I must admit that Amy has taken that position. She is a very independent little girl, but with so much affection!
For a rat that was very wary of humans and being touched, she absolutely loves having a cuddle and a face rub to the point where she is quite content to fall asleep in your arms.
She has become a very trusting little girl that demands attention and that’s what makes her special.
You just know with Amy that if she could talk, she would be right by your side saying ‘Where are you going? Can I come with you?’
The socialization continued for a week and although she was a little feisty with establishing her position with other two, when she went back to her own cage, she appeared to be very lonely and missed their company. It was obvious she wanted to be with the other two, she was just unsure of how to ‘have her cake and eat it too’.
But I am glad to say that she didn’t have to wait long, as a few days later, we bit the bullet as supervised social time was going well, and put her in with the Merlin and Rella.
We have had major success with all three! Amy has fit in exceptionally well with Merlin and Rella and they have accepted her in the same fashion.
It is wonderful to see that with such heart wrenching stories that these three have brought with them, that they have been able to overcome their fears and apprehensions to become such affectionate and personality filled little babies who eat together, sleep together, play together and ratpile!
The first time I saw all three asleep and cuddled up with each other, I could do nothing but cry out of happiness for them.
