  I believe that experience is the hardest kind of teacher; first, it gives you the test, then you learn the lessons.
That’s what my experiences with animals have taught me. I have five cats, two guinea pigs, and four Russian dwarf hamsters. But this is the sad tale of two mice. I got my first mouse in a very strange way. At a play practice two years ago, I noticed a boy in the corner who had a Pringles can full of mice. Being an animal person, I asked him what he was going to do with them. “Give ’em to my boa,” he said. I was shocked. I begged him for one. He said, “No” But I was persistent. Finally, I offered him twenty dollars. He told me I was crazy and handed me a black female mouse.
“Great! Now what?” I asked. I had a hamster at home but didn’t have any idea about how to take care of a mouse! I cleared out the small compartment of my backpack and placed the mouse in it. I soaked some bread from my half-eaten sandwich in water and gave it and a dry piece to her. That day went so slowly. I kept thinking, How is Mom going to take this? Finally, it was time to go home from school.
My mom is also an animal person, so she just smirked when I showed her the mouse after I got into the cat I cried with joy when Mom said that I’d be able to keep the mouse. When we came home, I placed the small animal in my hamster’s travel cage and named her Lucky.
The next day I bought a ten-gallon tank and a water bottle for the little mouse. I read about mice all day and found out they often die of loneliness. When I told my mom about this, we got a partner for the mouse that weekend, and I named her Squeegie. Immediately, the two mice were best buddies. They slept played together every day for two years. Usually, mice have a life span of only one year, so I knew they were getting very old. One day found Lucky dead on the floor of her cage. Squeegie was nearby burying her. This touched me. Here were these little creatures, who can be snake food, caring for and loving each other.
A week later, Squeegie passed away. It was so sad to see my last mouse leave that week. But she had been grieving. It was obvious that Squeegie was very sad. She didn’t want to climb or chew on he wood block or run on her wheel. I cried when I saw Squeegie lying in her cage. What really touched me was that she didn’t die from a disease or a broken bone but from a broken heart.
I hope I gave Lucky and Squeegie a wonderful two years of life. I know it was much more than they would have had in any pet store or at that boy’s house. How people can put even the smallest creature through any kind of torture is beyond me. I believe that animals have personalities, souls, and hearts. I could never hurt one. Later, because of those two mice, I adopted many hamsters to give my love to. Meditation
Could you ease the pain of an animal or person with a broken heart by giving love, attention, and companionship? |
