I found a baby...something [rat?]. Help! (Update: Despite best efforts, now passed away)

[Ulbrick]

Sorry for your loss OP, you did a huge amount of good and earned a lot of people's respect - you're a wonderful human being and I've appreciated viewing yours (and Powerhouse) adventure over the past week.

 

[LanceX2]

Quoting you again, I know I responded but seriously, thank you. Please don't feel bad about expectations, I think having people supporting/helping was a huge boon here and made this a lot easier than it would have been otherwise, regarding coping with him dying

If nothing else, now that I'm calming down some, I wanna say this, and I'm gonna update the OP with it because I think it's important. I've got my head on a bit straighter:


Even though Powerhouse passed away, I'm never going to forget this week. Life can be amazing, or cruel, or treacherous, or unpredictable, but if I hadn't picked up that little baby and taken him home, I never would have known what I was capable of when it came to caring for something that couldn't care for itself.

Whether or not it was inevitable that he passed, or if I made some small mistake that spiraled, I needed to do this. And as much as it hurts that he's gone, I hope anyone reading this realizes that while we may not have an obligation to kindness or empathy, the most selfish thing we can do is to consider the cost not worth it, to let ourselves become jaded to the suffering of other living things.

When I was googling around trying to identify Powerhouse's species the other day, I did a lot of searches like "pinkie mouse" and the sort, and you know what came up?

'Pinkie mice, 50 pack, frozen'. For snake food.

And man, that hit me for a second. I'm sitting here losing sleep trying to keep this guy alive, spending over a hundred dollars already doing everything I can and knowing I'll be spending a lot more if he keeps kicking, and there's this company mass-breeding mice just to freeze and sell as food. And I'm not mad at them; I love snakes. They gotta eat, too.

But it was a paradigm shift for me, mentally. A realization that the scale, or the perspective, or the magnitude doesn't matter. Because it's not about trying to save a life, or whether or not I fail in doing so.

It's about not wanting to lose the part of me that's willing to do so, and knowing that even though my efforts failed this time - whether out of my control or not - I'd still do it again. And I will. Any time I find something like this, any time I find an animal that needs help, I'm gonna do it, even knowing that if it dies, it's gonna hit me just as hard as Powerhouse dying today did.

I'd rather be an optimist and be disappointed a million times than be a cynic and be right once.

And if nothing else, for everyone who was as invested in Powerhouse as I am, I hope you guys can at least take some piece of that away.

Please don't be afraid to help a living thing, whether it's a person, animal, or even plant.

Please don't fear the pain that can come with failure. Every ounce of heartache I feel right now is nothing compared to the fact that Powerhouse at least got to be warm, and fed, for a few days.

Please don't listen to people who tell you "it's going to die anyways, why bother?" Maybe they're not even wrong - but it isn't about that. It's about ranking the livelihood of another being, a creature with feelings, over a fear of feeling like you fucked up.

I love you guys, and I love this community for being so supportive.

But please, PLEASE, take what happened here as a reason to do your best if you find something that needs help. For me, for Powerhouse, for anything that needs it, please consider that you might be saving a life, or at least making a doomed being more comfortable in its final hours, and that's worth the pain, worth the heartache, and worth the time and effort.

Thanks. I'll let you guys know what I decide to do with the equipment and what I plan to get. I definitely think it's time to bring more pets into my life - and to maybe look into careers helping them professionally.

Click to shrink...

Beautiful.

Hey brother, if you can adopt a shelter animal. You know animals that have little chances at life or on death row.

 

[Deaf Spacker]

Oh fuck :(

At least you tried dude.

 

[Game Fan]

Oh, man. Sad news.

You are a good person, OP.

RIP Powerhouse.

 

[Buttzerker]

Gonna make a donation to an animal charity tonight to salute the OP for his hard work and care.

o7

Click to shrink...

That's a fucking awesome gesture. Thank you so much. <3

 

[The Ethereal One]

Godspeed, Powerhouse.

Thank you for your efforts, OP. You're a great person.

 

[Morrigan]

Did we ever know what animal it was?

 

[neon/drifter]

I definitely think it's time to bring more pets into my life - and to maybe look into careers helping them professionally.

Click to shrink...

I read this whole post and your introspection is brilliant and your heart is in the best of places. I'm happy that this moment of yours and Powerhouses lives allowed you this growth.

My wife works in the vet industry. And she said that you may want to consider looking into the world of fostering. If only because looking into vet work is the obvious idea for someone compassionate about animals. But the thing is, fostering animals is an essential thing as well that not many know about. There are a lot of shelters and places that are just overpacked, and having foster volunteers take these animals in is a true boon for those animals lives. It allows the shelters to take in more animals instead of turning them away because they're overpacked.

There is a woman that visits my wifes workplace and all she really does is rescue stray kittens and cats from the street to foster them to health and then full adoption. She also works with a company to rescue high risk animals from kill shelters and take them to no kill sanctuaries.

I hope this information helps. Keep using that love in this world.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Buttzerker, you are a good person. And you made a fan of me and my girlfriend, who became glued to your stream to check on you both. I wish more people cared about animals this much.

Powerhouse will be kicking roaches in heaven.

 

[Shirosaki]

So sorry for your loss man. You went above and beyond any possible expectations and gave the little guy a chance.

I have to commend you on your updated first post. That is a fantastic perspective to have, I'm sure you changed at least one person to give an animal a chance in a time of need now.

Thanks for keeping us updated through this! His memory won't be forgotten.

 

[Buttzerker]

I read this whole post and your introspection is brilliant and your heart is in the best of places. I'm happy that this moment of yours and Powerhouses lives allowed you this growth.

My wife works in the vet industry. And she said that you may want to consider looking into the world of fostering. If only because looking into vet work is the obvious idea for someone compassionate about animals. But the thing is, fostering animals is an essential thing as well that not many know about. There are a lot of shelters and places that are just overpacked, and having foster volunteers take these animals in is a true boon for those animals lives. It allows the shelters to take in more animals instead of turning them away because they're overpacked.

There is a woman that visits my wifes workplace and all she really does is rescue stray kittens and cats from the street to foster them to health and then full adoption. She also works with a company to rescue high risk animals from kill shelters and take them to no kill sanctuaries.

I hope this information helps. Keep using that love in this world.

Click to shrink...

<3 Thanks. And yeah, I'm definitely looking into fostering, had my friend who rehabs animals tell me it'd be a great way to help them out.

 

[SeZMehK]

Sorry for your loss OP. I know it hurts so much, but this had made you into a better person. It shows what you can do for others that need such help.

 

[ArtVandelay]

I don't know what to say, I'm devastated. I got so attached to the little guy over the last week.
You did good. Thanks for taking Powerhouse in and giving him so much love.

 

[DIE BART DIE]

ResetEra legends, both of you.

 

[Kyra]

Quoting you again, I know I responded but seriously, thank you. Please don't feel bad about expectations, I think having people supporting/helping was a huge boon here and made this a lot easier than it would have been otherwise, regarding coping with him dying

If nothing else, now that I'm calming down some, I wanna say this, and I'm gonna update the OP with it because I think it's important. I've got my head on a bit straighter:


Even though Powerhouse passed away, I'm never going to forget this week. Life can be amazing, or cruel, or treacherous, or unpredictable, but if I hadn't picked up that little baby and taken him home, I never would have known what I was capable of when it came to caring for something that couldn't care for itself.

Whether or not it was inevitable that he passed, or if I made some small mistake that spiraled, I needed to do this. And as much as it hurts that he's gone, I hope anyone reading this realizes that while we may not have an obligation to kindness or empathy, the most selfish thing we can do is to consider the cost not worth it, to let ourselves become jaded to the suffering of other living things.

When I was googling around trying to identify Powerhouse's species the other day, I did a lot of searches like "pinkie mouse" and the sort, and you know what came up?

'Pinkie mice, 50 pack, frozen'. For snake food.

And man, that hit me for a second. I'm sitting here losing sleep trying to keep this guy alive, spending over a hundred dollars already doing everything I can and knowing I'll be spending a lot more if he keeps kicking, and there's this company mass-breeding mice just to freeze and sell as food. And I'm not mad at them; I love snakes. They gotta eat, too.

But it was a paradigm shift for me, mentally. A realization that the scale, or the perspective, or the magnitude doesn't matter. Because it's not about trying to save a life, or whether or not I fail in doing so.

It's about not wanting to lose the part of me that's willing to do so, and knowing that even though my efforts failed this time - whether out of my control or not - I'd still do it again. And I will. Any time I find something like this, any time I find an animal that needs help, I'm gonna do it, even knowing that if it dies, it's gonna hit me just as hard as Powerhouse dying today did.

I'd rather be an optimist and be disappointed a million times than be a cynic and be right once.

And if nothing else, for everyone who was as invested in Powerhouse as I am, I hope you guys can at least take some piece of that away.

Please don't be afraid to help a living thing, whether it's a person, animal, or even plant.

Please don't fear the pain that can come with failure. Every ounce of heartache I feel right now is nothing compared to the fact that Powerhouse at least got to be warm, and fed, for a few days.

Please don't listen to people who tell you "it's going to die anyways, why bother?" Maybe they're not even wrong - but it isn't about that. It's about ranking the livelihood of another being, a creature with feelings, over a fear of feeling like you fucked up.

I love you guys, and I love this community for being so supportive.

But please, PLEASE, take what happened here as a reason to do your best if you find something that needs help. For me, for Powerhouse, for anything that needs it, please consider that you might be saving a life, or at least making a doomed being more comfortable in its final hours, and that's worth the pain, worth the heartache, and worth the time and effort.

Thanks. I'll let you guys know what I decide to do with the equipment and what I plan to get. I definitely think it's time to bring more pets into my life - and to maybe look into careers helping them professionally.

Click to shrink...

What a perspective. Life event change us and we become better people because we learn to live and let go. That we all have a place and a purpose and we should strive to do the most good even if it doesn't always work. You should feel happy you made a difference for your tiny friend for the time he was here and made a difference for all the people that cheered you on doing it.

 

[Deleted member 3010]

Losing a pet is so heartbreaking. :(

I'm gonna hug the fuck out of my cat tonight.

She will push back and try to escape, but will be forced through the hug. :lol

 

[Deleted member 10726]

RIP Powerhouse, you made so many of us happy and I won't forget the time I spent reading every update in this thread and watching you on stream.

Buttzerker , I want to thank you for all you've done. You've given this little guy so much love and so much care. I wish things could have been different, but I want you to know I respect you for how much you cared about something other people would just have left to die in the rain.

 

[Alent]

Oh, no :( You gave him the best chance he'd get and you're a fantastic, caring person. RIP Powerhouse, the lil' guy gave it his all.

 

[Hollywood Pescado]

Oh fuck, this is sad news. :(

Don't blame this on yourself.

You did the best you possibly could. You went above and beyond to help him.

I don't know what else to say to be honest.

 

[TheZynster]

RIP powerhouse, was insanely looking forward to seeing him grow up and flourish. Sorry for your loss OP, it was an incredible thing you tried doing. You attempted so hard to save his life, wish it would have turned out for the best. Buttzerker may PowerHouse rest in peace and know that someone out there at least cared for the little guy.

 

[hjort]

I'm so sorry to hear this, Buttzerker. You're a good person, and you did make a difference, not just for Powerhouse but for all of us, and yourself. Thank you for everything you did for the little guy.

RIP Powerhouse.

 

[PSqueak]

Rest in peace, Powerhouse.

 

[HardRojo]

Holy fuck reading the updated title gave me chills down the spine. Sorry for your loss OP.

 

[TrueSloth]

You did a good job, OP. Powerhouse had a lot going against him, but you really cared for him and that's all that matters. You gave him an opportunity to live.

 

[InfiniDragon]

I'm really sorry to hear, I was keeping an eye on this thread every day.

So many others have said it but I'll add it anyway: Do not blame yourself. Do NOT blame yourself.

You gave the little one a chance it would have never had in nature. You moved around your work and personal life in ways most people, even the good of heart with good intentions, cannot do even if they wanted to help. What you did was a pure, complete and selfless act of kindness that was both incredible to be able to see due to the streams, and inspiring. Look at how many replies you got on this. Look at how many people are now donating to animal charities and paying it forward as best they can because of you.

You didn't fail. It wasn't for nothing. It hurts like hell now since you and we all bonded with Powerhouse, but hold your head high because you gave him the best life he could have had. Thank you for caring enough to actually try.

 

[Deleted member 32561]

Been quietly watching all this. You did a good job Buttzerker. Poor little guy probably had something wrong with him you had no way of telling. RIP little Powerhouse, may you roundhouse kick roaches in the great field in the sky.

 

[Nostremitus]

Damn.... Sorry OP.

 

[Alcoremortis]

When I saw the update, my heart sank... I was really hoping for the best for little Powerhouse. Echoing others in the thread, it was probably some defect you couldn't see, but you still gave him a good life and that's not nothing. Mad respect for you Buttzerker and the work you put into the little guy.

 

[Buttzerker]

I'm really sorry to hear, I was keeping an eye on this thread every day.

So many others have said it but I'll add it anyway: Do not blame yourself. Do NOT blame yourself.

You gave the little one a chance it would have never had in nature. You moved around your work and personal life in ways most people, even the good of heart with good intentions, cannot do even if they wanted to help. What you did was a pure, complete and selfless act of kindness that was both incredible to be able to see due to the streams, and inspiring. Look at how many replies you got on this. Look at how many people are now donating to animal charities and paying it forward as best they can because of you.

You didn't fail. It wasn't for nothing. It hurts like hell now since you and we all bonded with Powerhouse, but hold your head high because you gave him the best life he could have had. Thank you for caring enough to actually try.

Click to shrink...

Thanks. <3


Also, a small bit of good news, a silver lining to the day:


My brother just got confirmation he's going to be heading to another state for six months, and he's asked me to apartment-sit with my roommate. We're gonna stay there and be paying very little in bills, while also getting out of this complex.

What this means, in relevance to the thread, is I'll be able to afford the time and cost of going to some shelters or pet stores and finding some beautiful rodent buddies for the Powerhouse Tribute Band. I'd LIKE to get some from fosters/shelter, but struggling to find some in my area for rodents, just cats/dogs.

 

[AlwaysSalty]

Rip powerhouse

 

[Raticus79]

RIP. It was a good effort in the face of lousy odds.

 

[RPTGB]

Sorry to hear the little fella passed on, sometimes it just the way these things work out, unfortunately.
Get yourself some proper sleep, there's no doubt you've earned it.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Buttzerker Seeing as how much care and effort you put into this, I think that getting into an animal care profession of some sort is a great idea. I used to run a dog daycare with my ex and it was amazing. I didnt help them medically in any way but all the dogs there were my best buds. I'd even take a quick 15 min nap sometimes and have like 5 or 6 dogs all napping with me. It was the most joyous job ever.

We also used to babysit birds and rodents for people going on vacation as a side thing for some extra cash. Its worth looking into.

 

[Regulus Tera]

I know it might be a bit insensitive, but what are you planning to do with Powerhouse now? Burying him? Cremating him?

 

[Theecliff]

ah shit, i'm so sorry OP. you went above and beyond what anyone could have asked for and demonstrated an immeasurable amount of kindness.

 

[Buttzerker]

I know it might be a bit insensitive, but what are you planning to do with Powerhouse now? Burying him? Cremating him?

Click to shrink...

About to go bury him now, gonna find a nice spot in the field across the street

 

[PlanetSmasher]

This is heartbreaking. I've been having a really bad week and watching your little buddy fight and grow stronger was one of the few bright spots in it.

No matter how sad it might be, though, you did a good job. Sometimes you fight a battle you can't win. But you gave Powerhouse a fighting chance, which is way more than he ever would've had if you didn't take him in.

 

[Nappuccino]

You're a saint, but we can't win them all. I'm glad to hear you want to keep fostering and working with animals. They need people like you :)

 

[rpm]

RIP Powerhouse. Thank you, Buttzerker, for doing everything you could for him, and for allowing us to come on this journey with you.

 

[EssCee]

Can someone catch me up on the significance of this?

Coming in late and all I'm surmising is that a rat he found just died?

 

[kiriku]

So sorry to hear this. :( You put so much love and energy into this and it always made me happy to watch the livestream.

 

[Deleted member 8750]

Quoting you again, I know I responded but seriously, thank you. Please don't feel bad about expectations, I think having people supporting/helping was a huge boon here and made this a lot easier than it would have been otherwise, regarding coping with him dying

If nothing else, now that I'm calming down some, I wanna say this, and I'm gonna update the OP with it because I think it's important. I've got my head on a bit straighter:


Even though Powerhouse passed away, I'm never going to forget this week. Life can be amazing, or cruel, or treacherous, or unpredictable, but if I hadn't picked up that little baby and taken him home, I never would have known what I was capable of when it came to caring for something that couldn't care for itself.

Whether or not it was inevitable that he passed, or if I made some small mistake that spiraled, I needed to do this. And as much as it hurts that he's gone, I hope anyone reading this realizes that while we may not have an obligation to kindness or empathy, the most selfish thing we can do is to consider the cost not worth it, to let ourselves become jaded to the suffering of other living things.

When I was googling around trying to identify Powerhouse's species the other day, I did a lot of searches like "pinkie mouse" and the sort, and you know what came up?

'Pinkie mice, 50 pack, frozen'. For snake food.

And man, that hit me for a second. I'm sitting here losing sleep trying to keep this guy alive, spending over a hundred dollars already doing everything I can and knowing I'll be spending a lot more if he keeps kicking, and there's this company mass-breeding mice just to freeze and sell as food. And I'm not mad at them; I love snakes. They gotta eat, too.

But it was a paradigm shift for me, mentally. A realization that the scale, or the perspective, or the magnitude doesn't matter. Because it's not about trying to save a life, or whether or not I fail in doing so.

It's about not wanting to lose the part of me that's willing to do so, and knowing that even though my efforts failed this time - whether out of my control or not - I'd still do it again. And I will. Any time I find something like this, any time I find an animal that needs help, I'm gonna do it, even knowing that if it dies, it's gonna hit me just as hard as Powerhouse dying today did.

I'd rather be an optimist and be disappointed a million times than be a cynic and be right once.

And if nothing else, for everyone who was as invested in Powerhouse as I am, I hope you guys can at least take some piece of that away.

Please don't be afraid to help a living thing, whether it's a person, animal, or even plant.

Please don't fear the pain that can come with failure. Every ounce of heartache I feel right now is nothing compared to the fact that Powerhouse at least got to be warm, and fed, for a few days.

Please don't listen to people who tell you "it's going to die anyways, why bother?" Maybe they're not even wrong - but it isn't about that. It's about ranking the livelihood of another being, a creature with feelings, over a fear of feeling like you fucked up.

I love you guys, and I love this community for being so supportive.

But please, PLEASE, take what happened here as a reason to do your best if you find something that needs help. For me, for Powerhouse, for anything that needs it, please consider that you might be saving a life, or at least making a doomed being more comfortable in its final hours, and that's worth the pain, worth the heartache, and worth the time and effort.

Thanks. I'll let you guys know what I decide to do with the equipment and what I plan to get. I definitely think it's time to bring more pets into my life - and to maybe look into careers helping them professionally.

Click to shrink...

This was a beautiful post.

As someone who's done a few animal rescues, I understand the pain of when- despite your best efforts- they just don't pull through and all you can do is make their final moments comfortable. But then you are going to have many great success stories. They either become a part of your family or go back out into the world, and it's the best feeling of accomplishment.

We need more people like you that care about animals and especially the ones that many view as "expendable" or "pests" like rodents and other small mammals. I'm not sure exactly where in TX that you live but there are small mammal rescues around where you can give a great home to a small rodent in need. It's not about "replacing" Powerhouse, but you have a lot of love in you and your life will be that much better to have another animal to give it to.

All the best to you.

 

[SugarNoodles]

Can someone catch me up on the significance of this?

Coming in late and all I'm surmising is that a rat he found just died?

Click to shrink...

Baby rodent found likely at 1 or 2 days old. Cared for for 6 days. Suddenly passed overnight.

 

[Z-Beat]

You did what you could and more than most. I'm sorry it didnt work out

 

[hombremalo]

The powerhouse foundation for the homeless rodents, I can see it.

 

[EssCee]

Baby rodent found likely at 1 or 2 days old. Cared for for 6 days. Suddenly passed overnight.

Click to shrink...

 

[Alent]

Whatever kind of animal you adopt in the future will be one lucky bugger <3

 

[SugarNoodles]

Click to shrink...

What am I missing?

 

[Pet]

I'm really sorry to hear, I was keeping an eye on this thread every day.

So many others have said it but I'll add it anyway: Do not blame yourself. Do NOT blame yourself.

You gave the little one a chance it would have never had in nature. You moved around your work and personal life in ways most people, even the good of heart with good intentions, cannot do even if they wanted to help. What you did was a pure, complete and selfless act of kindness that was both incredible to be able to see due to the streams, and inspiring. Look at how many replies you got on this. Look at how many people are now donating to animal charities and paying it forward as best they can because of you.

You didn't fail. It wasn't for nothing. It hurts like hell now since you and we all bonded with Powerhouse, but hold your head high because you gave him the best life he could have had. Thank you for caring enough to actually try.

Click to shrink...

This, Buttzerker . You did an amazing thing and made Powerhouse's life on earth comfortable and wonderful. Not many people would have gone through the effort you did to rescue a helpless animal. Thanks so much, and I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Courier 7]

RIP Powerhouse.