*~*Landen*~*

~*White Violet Carrier*~
02/21/02 - 08/12/02

My dear Landen... I bought Landen when he was just 8 weeks old and I was so excited when we brought him home. He was such a little boy! I can remember my brother taking him out of the 'travel cage' and then Landen climbed right up his chest, stopped on his shoulders then proceeded to his back. My brother had to quickly lean over so the little boy wouldn't fall off. I took Landen off his back and held him close to my heart. This is a place where he shall forever remain.

Landen was such a special chinchilla. He loved to be held! He always wanted attention and couldn't wait for someone to take him out of the cage. He would crawl all over you and yet wouldn't run away if you let him loose. He even would sit on my brother's lap and watch TV with him. He was a doll and definately one in a million.

Finally the day came that would rip my heart in half. Landen started acting weird and stopped eatting. I took him to the vet right away and he said that Landen was a bit dehydrated and seemed depressed. He had been drooling and getting weaker by the moment. The vet gave me some pain meds in case it was some internal pain causing him to not eat. He also gave me antibiotics and told me to hand feed Landen every two hours and give him liquids every hour. This worked for a little while, but then my baby refused to eat or drink. Back to the vet I went and he gave him a SubQ shot to get liquids in him.

I waited and waited but then Landen still looked horrid. All he would do was lay there looking up at me as if he were pleading for something. There was my little Landen needing something and I didn't know what it was. I was heartbroken. So, back to the vet. "Without a miracle, he won't make it through the night." Oh how I prayed for that miracle. He was too weak to do testing. He was too stressed to attempt it. The vet then said his temp had dropped drastically and he needed warmed up fast. I wrapped him in a towel and dried him from the SubQ shots. I put his cage on a heating pad.

Then he was laying there. I reached over and pet him. I told him how sorry I was that he to go thru what he was going thru. Then it happened. At 3am, with my hand on his body, he took his last gasp for air then left the earth. Oh how I blamed myself. What else could I have done. All I could do was hold him and say how sorry I was. I had a good friend there with me the whole night. It was a 28 1/2 fight that I was there with him. She held me as I held him.

I prayed for the miracle that would save him... but it wasn't until after we burried him that I thanked God for giving me the miracle. It was there all along. His life and short time with me was a miracle.

~Rest in peace my dear Landen. I shall always love and remember you~

This was a gift given to me that was made by Janie of Chintasia. Christmas 2002.

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