It is with a very heavy heart that I announce the passing of Suki, who crossed over the bridge in the early morning of New Year's Eve, 2015.  She was 2 years, 11 months, just shy of her third birthday.  Aside from a cataract that had developed in her left eye this past year, Suki had been in fantastic health until November when I noticed a drop in her weight.  I weigh all of my rats weekly and record the results so that I can monitor and immediately catch any potential health issues that may be arising.  Suki was by no means a large rat, but she was generally plump and always maintained a healthy weight for her small size.  I was alarmed by the weight loss, but especially so when porphyrin presented itself -- an immediate sign that something was wrong.  I amended her diet to facilitate weight gain, and some time later I noticed the pupil of her right eye became fixed in a downward position.  My suspicions were that something was growing directly behind her eye (possible tumour), and the pressure of it was causing the eye to turn in that position.  My expectation was that the eye would eventually begin to protrude if it was left alone, thus I knew it would have been best for her to have the eye surgically removed to prevent discomfort.  Unfortunately, given the sudden and rapid decline in her health, surgery was absolutely out of the question for her.  Hind End Degeneration (HED) also hit her aggressively, and within about two weeks she was experiencing immense difficulty with using her hind legs.  As if this wasn't enough for poor Suki, a tumour formed in her groin area almost overnight, and its delicate location meant that it did not have to grow to a large size before it would begin causing issues with her urination.  Taking everything into account and putting her welfare and comfort first, I decided it was in Suki's best interest to have her euthanised.

With the holidays (Christmas & New Year's) in the midst of all of this, I was able to get Suki booked for January 4th, 2016 to be put to rest.  At around 1:00 a.m. the night of December 30, all of the rats enjoyed their nightly playtime with me.  Mortimer, Arrow, and Saoirse climbed onto my shoulders to lick my face and groom my hair, as they always do; London and Britain darted around the room with quick greetings for hand-wrestling; Cash plopped down on my lap for a snuggle; Famous lay curled up for a nap in another room; and Suki waddled over to me slowly and methodically, then pawed repeatedly at my leg.  She could no longer climb onto my lap due to the severity of her HED, so she instead asked me to pick her up which I of course did for her.  She was so content as I held her and she licked every part of my hands and fingers without pausing for a minute.  Suki was clearly so happy and peaceful that night, despite everything that was going on with her, yet as I looked at her I knew that she had very little time left.  I recall questioning in my head whether this might be my last night with her.... and unfortunately, it was.

Suki passed away in the early morning of December 31, 2015.  When I opened the door to the rats' walk-in enclosure, everyone greeted me on the shelf next to the door.  I immediately noticed Suki was missing, since she always waited for me on the floor by the door and would bolt out of the room to greet me before I even entered the room.  As her HED progressed, these "door dashes" (as I called them) became slower and slower, but she never gave them up for a day in her life.  When I opened the door that morning, there was no Suki instantly sitting on my feet.  Alarmed, I ran into the enclosure and quickly found her curled comfortably in a sleeping position in one of the rats' huts.  She had recently passed, and it appeared that she had passed very peacefully.

I am devastated at the loss of Suki, as she was so dear to me with her brassy personality and affectionate nature.  She was Saoirse's role-model and Famous' best friend.  She travelled on the road and participated in presentations educating the public on her species and reversed the negative opinions of so many people whom she met.  And she has charmed millions of people across the globe with her YouTube videos and television appearances.

Farewell, Suki, my clever little show-off.  You will live on in my heart until we meet again.  And I'm certain you will have taught yourself all kinds of new tricks in the meantime that you'll want to show me when I see you again.  You will make me proud, just as you had during your life here with me.  You are perfect, and I love you. ♥

~ from Nana, Kaiser, Zed, Horatio, Shorty, Stumpy, Famous,
​Suki, Mortimer, Cash, London, Britain, Arrow, and Saoirse :)

It's a face that is nearly impossible to look at without smiling.  A character you cannot meet without falling in love. You pick him up for snuggling, and you don't ever want to put him down.  

​Who is this mystery character I speak of?  Why, this quirky little dude, of course.

Give a warm welcome to Horatio, a four-month-old African pygmy hedgehog who is bursting at the seams with personality!  Horatio joined The Gang towards the end of November 2015, and he could very well be the friendliest (and most active) hedgehog on this planet.  Despite being at the peak of his quilling stage (when hedgehogs are generally a little moody as they shed their spines and grow new ones), he never huffs, nor does he ever curl himself into a ball save for when he is fast asleep... in fact, he never even raises his spines!  Nothing spooks or fazes this little energy ball, and he loves running about and meeting everyone and everything in his environment. 

​More to come from this dude!  See you in the next update. :)
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~ Nana, Kaiser, Zed, Shorty, Stumpy, Horatio, Famous, Suki,
​                                    London, Britain, Cash, Mortimer, Saoirse, & Arrow                                                                                                                                            

Stumpy is a 9-week-old Brazilian Short-Tailed Opossum (the same species as Shorty) who joined The Gang on November 10.  He was born without the three middle toes on his left, hind foot, and is missing half of his pinky toe and most of his thumb... hence his name.  He climbs well despite this minor deformity and has no trouble exploring and getting about.

Stumpy has begun his journey of extensive socialisation and training, after which he will be joining Shorty, Zed, the rats, and the bevy of exotic animals they travel with on the road participating in educational shows for the public.  His temperament is much more like a classic Brazilian opossum, unlike Shorty (who is abnormally docile, mellow, loyal, and affectionate for his species); thus his socialisation and training period will likely cover a broader time frame than it had for Shorty.  He is a good boy and a wonderful protégé.  I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this little character.
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