Very sorry. I kept rats for maybe a decade, with at least a dozen individuals. It was sort of an intentional exercise in mortality, because I knew I would be exposed to their deaths frequently, and I thought it might help me learn deal with mortality in general. All I learned is that animals are people and that death only gets harder. Please go vegan.
Yep I’ve probably been keeping them for about ten years, too. They’re such great pets, other than the short lifespan. We spent a week syringe feeding the last one after she ended up half paralysed at 3 years old. No exotics vet here so there was no option for euthanising her.
None of the euthanasia options I had available were humane. I was forced over and over to choose between allowing them to linger in suffering, taking them someplace terrifying to subject them to an agonizing death, or attempt to do the best I can by myself. I have killed people I love.
One thing became very clear to me, though it took a long time to see through all the self-delusion. It is not okay for a person to place another creature in a situation where the first person has to make every life and death decision on the other’s behalf. It is morally wrong. But more than that, it is not good for us. What’s more, we only do it so the creature can be a source of companionship and meet other emotional needs.
Today I’m a hard core vegan who advocates against pet ownership at all.
Very sorry. I kept rats for maybe a decade, with at least a dozen individuals. It was sort of an intentional exercise in mortality, because I knew I would be exposed to their deaths frequently, and I thought it might help me learn deal with mortality in general. All I learned is that animals are people and that death only gets harder. Please go vegan.
Yep I’ve probably been keeping them for about ten years, too. They’re such great pets, other than the short lifespan. We spent a week syringe feeding the last one after she ended up half paralysed at 3 years old. No exotics vet here so there was no option for euthanising her.
None of the euthanasia options I had available were humane. I was forced over and over to choose between allowing them to linger in suffering, taking them someplace terrifying to subject them to an agonizing death, or attempt to do the best I can by myself. I have killed people I love.
One thing became very clear to me, though it took a long time to see through all the self-delusion. It is not okay for a person to place another creature in a situation where the first person has to make every life and death decision on the other’s behalf. It is morally wrong. But more than that, it is not good for us. What’s more, we only do it so the creature can be a source of companionship and meet other emotional needs.
Today I’m a hard core vegan who advocates against pet ownership at all.
We would feed them tiny amounts of edibles in their last few days. Seem to help alleviate.