5/26/02 - 6/23/04

American Blue Blazed Berkshire Double Odd Eye Dumbo

Bleu was my amazing super rat and the very definition of the word "trouper." Her first litter of baby rats unexpectedly produced three babies with the genetic disorder megacolon, a malformation of the lower digestive tract. She also nearly died when a piece of food lodged in her throat and caused a huge infection and swelling in the area. We were amazed to see her pull through thanks to the work of Dr. Barbara Deeb of Allpet Veterinary and about a month of serious nursing care at home. Nobody, not even silly optimistic me, felt she'd pull through but our girl was full of happy surprises. Bleu then required an emergency spay and developed bladder cancer that caused her to urinate blood for the last 6 months of her life. Blue was one tough cookie, despite her diminutive stature, and never let any of it slow her down. She was an excellent nanny and helped several of our mothers care for their litters expertly and also nursed her half-brother Moby for the last month of his life after his stroke. Bleu also had the distinction of being the only ROUS resident to have their photo printed in the back of a comic book! She was mentioned in the comic Blue Monday by Chynna Clugston-Major as that was one of the inspirations for her name (along with, of course, the famous New Order song). It's a shame there are no A&E Biography specials on rats or VH-1's Behind the Rodents as Bleu would definitely qualify for both. Bleu celebrated her second birthday a month before her death by scarfing down a truly heroic amount of grilled steak purchased especially for her enjoyment at her Bleu-B-Q birthday celebration, attended by many RatsPacNW rat club members and FOBs (Friends of Bleu.) For such a small creature, Miss Bleu left behind huge footprints.

Bleu with an ouchy ear after a tussle with Shazza. They had since kissed and made up.

Return to Our Ladies' Page