MEMORIAL PHOTO GALLERY, and final resting place.

[Die Fledermaus]

The first anniversary of Princess' stroke motivated me to finally clear out my freezer of deceased pets and have a mass burial in a secluded and lovely section of Green-Wood Cemetery, near Dell Water, here in Brooklyn, New York. Ceremonies were held Sept. 10, 2004, and all are intered deep and securely - except for Princess who is still here. I will likely bury her, separately, in a nearby location.

I will add more information about the deceased pets in this thread as time permits. But for now, all the lost ones are pictured in this MEMORIAL PHOTO GALLERY in the order in which they passed away, starting with Blackie.

RIP, all of you.

[jostring]

Just been and had a look at your pics - there were all adorable - and still are of the ones still with us!
The burial site looks nice too.
It must of been difficult for you after all this time to get them out and finally put them to rest.
Its just not fair that they have such short lives - some very much shorter than others.
You really care for these little creatures and that I have up most respect for - there should be more people like yourself.
Remember them fondly not when they were at their worst - that's the problem I have with my partner - he just keeps thinking how ill Halo was!
I guess that will pass and we will be able to remember her fondly.
I pray our other two have a more peacful ending.
Hello to all your little ones! ;D
Take care
Jo
Xx

[Die Fledermaus]

Thanks. It is a wonderful huge cemetery, filled with hills, trees, lakes, history, art and architecture - and tranquility. We have a night tour in a few weeks: what a lovely sight at twilight as countless fireflies ascend from the ground.

All the critters filled a segment of my life, and I remember little things about each one. I remember the good times better than the difficult last hours with Rainy; Makeeda's problem (bad vet) the vet will also be remembering by the time I am finished with him. Subject for another thread, later - soon.

Thanks for the nice comments. I spent a lot of time digging with my implements a deep hole; it took fifteen minutes, and not a soul passed by. Tranquil, and peaceful.

[jeannie]

I'm glad you buried them all and they are at rest now.

Do you not have live photos of the first couple of guys Or, if not, could you possibly list them further down, so it's not the first thing that people see? Maybe I am too sensitive, but I have a hard time getting past the first photos, particularly poor Larry the Runt

Seems like you've had a lot of losses recently. I finally went 2 months now without any deaths. Whew. I am limiting myself in terms of the number of animals I have as a result, because the vet bills get to be too much, and it is emotionally draining to me.

I hope your remaining critters are all happy and well

[Die Fledermaus]

Jeannie said:

I'm glad you buried them all and they are at rest now.

Do you not have live photos of the first couple of guys Or, if not, could you possibly list them further down, so it's not the first thing that people see? Maybe I am too sensitive, but I have a hard time getting past the first photos, particularly poor Larry the Runt

Seems like you've had a lot of losses recently. I finally went 2 months now without any deaths. Whew. I am limiting myself in terms of the number of animals I have as a result, because the vet bills get to be too much, and it is emotionally draining to me.

I hope your remaining critters are all happy and well

Thanks.

No, no photos of Blackie and Larry alive, and only group shots of Peter. I will move them to the bottom. All photos have little descriptions and dates on them, and the whole thing can be viewed as a slideshow, with music. It was especially tough to lose the first ones, and Maggie, and of course Princess. Just found her dead. Shocking.

I will reverse the order of the photos - most recent first, so Larry is near the bottom. Done!

I also lost Raven recently. She was buried deep with Sam (what a guy) and Dave, who I got to replace Ted. I bury them not only deep but with heavy stones on top followed by the packed dirt. I do what I can, but if some squirrels dig them up and eat them, well, you know I love squirrels and if they get nourished that way I guess it could be worse.

Remember the big squirrel tree on the hill in my local Owls Head Park? I told you that story when I was surrounded by two dozen squirrels one February as I threw peanuts to them.
I once found a sweet little grave with a marker, "My bird". It was only several inches inderground; one dark night I reburied it - deep.

As for vets, I sent you a copy of the letter I sent to NY State regarding the rotten vet treatment I received. It will be a hopeful useful example of what to do.

But a new generation has entered the scene, and photos are coming - but not before I work on the Gallery.

BTW, a whole bunch of free events are upcoming in October
at the cemetery. For those interested go to green-wood.com and look for special events and guided tours.

[jeannie]

Cool. Yes, I like the music - memorial sites like that are always sad.

Did Larry the runt drown in his baby food? Poor little guy - I have a fondness for runts

Sorry to hear about Raven.

I guess their lifespans tend to expire at once, if you get them all around the same time. That's what I went through during the spring - summer. Now everybody else is doing okay, but Phoebe has become an old woman. She is all white, she has no front teeth now and has arthritis and a neurological disorder that the vet had never seen before (definitely from inbreeding). Of course I knew she was a freak when I brought her home, and she still is awfully cute and quite a fighter.
And now she is not a nipper, she's a gummer. It's quite an interesting feeling to be gummed by an old dwarf hamster.

I'm curious to see what you've brought home now.
How is Poppy?

[Die Fledermaus]

They were born the same day, of course.

I have never been gummed. . . by a gerbil. Photos of Phoebe?

Poppy is fine and has the run of the house, disappearing at times. She goes to her cage to eat and potty. I know that as the food disappears and the pan fills up; when it stops filling up I'll know I have a mess somewhere! She attaches herself to my feet when she is out - bunny love I am told.

Chocolate is a rescue ham in Maggie's and Princess' old CT2.

Cinnamon and her son Dion are also rescues, and a lovely golden color I always wanted, he being white banded too. She had a litter, as described in the Relaxing Rodents forum.
Dion is the only one in here with me; the rest are in the famed Rodent Room.

Slinky the gerbil, with no back legs, is happy in a bin alone.

Luna (almost white - a very very pale dove spot) and Shive are also rescues.

Cliffy and Dave - the remnants of the Gang of Four - are in a 15 gallon together.

The twenty gallon the Gang of Four was in is now inhabitated by the four girls I sort of rescued from a pet store from a tank filled with little pups: Laurel, nutmeg; Misty, pied; Indra, black; Ginger, golden agouti spot.

The four girls seem to be getting along, but I will watch that closely, and will consider pairing them off when more feasible.

I have posted photos of all of them already. More, later.

Everyone else is fine, and I will name the babies, and recheck the photos and attach names to them, in due course.

Best to the remains of your crew. Hope you found a nice place for Puck's ashes.

Speaking of the dead, I was at Green-Wood Saturday for a night tour of the place, and it was most atmospheric and cool exploring the catacombs and some of the giant mausoleums, such as the Steinway family's huge tomb. Quite a number of BATS about, too!

Finally, Larry the Runt did not "drown in his own baby food". (!?). He really would not eat at all even with an eyedropper, and he was found nowhere near any food. He was so much smaller than all the others it was tough to look at.

Oh yes, the six mice are fine, friendly, and highly recommended as pets. They do not smell. As with dwarfs biting, that concern was highly exaggerated. I will post the breeder's photos of his mice later.

[jeannie]

I don't plan to post any more photos of Phoebe - her modeling days are definitely over.

So how many have you now? Sounds like it's still a full house. Glad to hear Poppy is happy and well.

[Die Fledermaus]

I posted a full roster of my crew in the Hamster forum just several minutes ago!

Sorry Phoebe is no longer photogenic.