Kainaw's Journal: Squamous Cell Carcinoma

I think I've had my last pet for a while. I had a hedgehog named Hopper (after Grace Murray Hopper). She died very young from an aneurism. I got another hedgehog a few months later, Bella. Now, she is still young and I've just found that she has cancer - squamous cell carcinoma to be exact. I don't know which is worse, waking up one morning and finding your pet dead on the floor by your bed or taking her in for her yearly visit and finding out that she will spend the next few months slowing withering away from cancer. No, I think the worst is having most people tell you that a hedgehog doesn't qualify as a pet because it isn't a dog or a cat and therefore you aren't justified in having any feelings about its death.

I'm so sorry...

[beeplet]

That's so sad - it made me cry just to read it. Anyone who thinks they're qualified to judge how much a pet should mean to you is a jerk. Animals have an amazing capacity for love and friendship. I'm sure you've given Bella the best life she could have had, and that's important. I'll be thinking of both of you tonight. Take care.

Caring for those in our care....

[Rob Carr]

No, I think the worst is having most people tell you that a hedgehog doesn't qualify as a pet because it isn't a dog or a cat and therefore you aren't justified in having any feelings about its death.

My wife trained a red betta splendens (Siamese Fighting Fish) we called Valentine to swim a maze. The fish actually swam into the cup so that he could go to the maze tank. Valentine could tell the difference between her, me, and a stranger in the house. When he died, we both cried. Our lives were richer for h