A Farewell Note to Mousey

Dear Nao Shu,
You left us on 17 Oct 2005. Yesterday on 16 Oct, you had scratched yourself till you bled. We tried to stop the bleeding but you stubbornly scratched the wound again and again.

This morning, Mama was so relieved to see that you were still alive. In the afternoon, Papa told Mama that you were groggy. When Mama came back in the evening, you had already passed on.
We are sorry that we couldn't stop the bleeding for you. We just want you to know that we love you and we'll always remember you in our hearts.

Love, Papa and Mama

This was the note that I wrote on the card for Nao shu. It was buried together with her at the foot of our block, just beside her buddy who had died on March 27. They are finally together now.

Actually, she started getting better last week after we took her to the vet. The skin on her right side (neck) was broken as she had scratched it. We treated her with antiseptic, then applied powder to dry the area. She also had to take 2 types of liquid medicine, one of which smelled awful. We also added a powder-like medication in her water. She was obviously recovering. In fact, her right side was healing very well. We put her cage into a big tray of shallow water to prevent ants from getting into her cage. She had been active and happy for the past week.

Suddenly last night, she scratched her left side so badly that it started bleeding. And I mean profuse bleeding. She must have torn an artery or vein and the blood just oozed out non-stop. She, being uncomfortable, scratched even more. We forced tissue paper on her wound to stop the bleeding, but it didn't help. The minute we put her back inside the cage, she started scratching again. I tried to "bandage" her wound, but she refused to let me.

She died in her favourite blue container where she loved to sleep in. Her eyes were not closed and they looked watery. She must have been in pain but was too weak to do anything. The last few minutes must have been bad. She was a brave girl.

Although we had anticipated her departure, when we really faced her death, we were still overcome by grief. Now I feel an emptines, a void which I cannot explain.

I'm glad that she doesn't have to suffer anymore. I hope that she's happy at where she is now.

Hubby and I are not planning to buy any more hamsters. These 2 are special to us. Hubby had bought them for me as my Valentine's Day present last year. They had brought so much joy into our lives, and we had also given them a lot of our love. To us, they are irreplaceable.

Bye bye, Nao Shu. May you rest in peace.