Early Friday morning, Walterbridge "Wally" passed away. We (my parents and I) are not entirely certain of what happened, but we're suspecting it was either due to an unseen tumor or kidney failure, or a combination of both.
Wally struggled with a chronic respiratory illness for most of his life and had to be on medication for most of his fight, but was still a super sweet and happy (albeit shy) little big guy. Or, perhaps more appropriately, a big little guy, as he was the largest rat I'd ever had as well as one of the strongest: he would often drag bags and paper towels under my bed to use for nesting (though I would dismantle the nests to thoroughly vacuum under there, since he would sometimes take food I put in his carrier to eat under there). His favorite YouTuber was probably Bright Guardian Akira, as there were times when he'd get on my phone while I was using the YouTube or Amino apps and step on either a video of hers (if memory serves, it was her talking about bad Warriors book covers) or her Amino. As for music, he mostly liked whatever I listened to, but he seemed to greatly enjoy Skillet, Alter Bridge, Megadeth, Iron Maiden and Disturbed.
He was empathetic, and would sit patiently without fear as I ranted about whatever was bothering me at the moment until I noticed him and calmed down (he also did this with my older brother when he visited, even though Wally was usually skittish around my brother because of my brother's faster movements and louder noises). Last summer he faced off against a spider without getting bitten, and didn't object to multiple treats and hugs for his heroics. In early October I woke up early from a violent nightmare, with my thrashing waking Wally. I let him run around to let off some steam as I tried to calm down, though at one point he gave me a hug and two of his rare licks on my face as reassurance. During playtimes he would come over to me if I got on the floor a certain way, then lick and nibble my hands and arms as I scratched him in certain spots, sometimes settling down for a short nap in my arms.
It took Wally quite a bit of time to warm up to us, but once he did he would perk up whenever he heard us return home from running errands. Perhaps the first of my parents he got used to was my dad, though that may be because Dad was the first to discover Wally liked having his cheeks rubbed (Wally would lean into it every time). He loved getting zucchini from Mom, and would say hi to her whenever she came in, even if he was lying down and just picked his head up slightly. Mom would call him "Wally Bird," while Dad called him "Wally Booger Butts" (interestingly enough, he seemed to prefer Dad's nickname for him over Mom's).
Rest in peace, buddy. I will miss you immensely.
Wally struggled with a chronic respiratory illness for most of his life and had to be on medication for most of his fight, but was still a super sweet and happy (albeit shy) little big guy. Or, perhaps more appropriately, a big little guy, as he was the largest rat I'd ever had as well as one of the strongest: he would often drag bags and paper towels under my bed to use for nesting (though I would dismantle the nests to thoroughly vacuum under there, since he would sometimes take food I put in his carrier to eat under there). His favorite YouTuber was probably Bright Guardian Akira, as there were times when he'd get on my phone while I was using the YouTube or Amino apps and step on either a video of hers (if memory serves, it was her talking about bad Warriors book covers) or her Amino. As for music, he mostly liked whatever I listened to, but he seemed to greatly enjoy Skillet, Alter Bridge, Megadeth, Iron Maiden and Disturbed.
He was empathetic, and would sit patiently without fear as I ranted about whatever was bothering me at the moment until I noticed him and calmed down (he also did this with my older brother when he visited, even though Wally was usually skittish around my brother because of my brother's faster movements and louder noises). Last summer he faced off against a spider without getting bitten, and didn't object to multiple treats and hugs for his heroics. In early October I woke up early from a violent nightmare, with my thrashing waking Wally. I let him run around to let off some steam as I tried to calm down, though at one point he gave me a hug and two of his rare licks on my face as reassurance. During playtimes he would come over to me if I got on the floor a certain way, then lick and nibble my hands and arms as I scratched him in certain spots, sometimes settling down for a short nap in my arms.
It took Wally quite a bit of time to warm up to us, but once he did he would perk up whenever he heard us return home from running errands. Perhaps the first of my parents he got used to was my dad, though that may be because Dad was the first to discover Wally liked having his cheeks rubbed (Wally would lean into it every time). He loved getting zucchini from Mom, and would say hi to her whenever she came in, even if he was lying down and just picked his head up slightly. Mom would call him "Wally Bird," while Dad called him "Wally Booger Butts" (interestingly enough, he seemed to prefer Dad's nickname for him over Mom's).
Rest in peace, buddy. I will miss you immensely.
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