Bob was my first pet and a real charactor. He was pure white with black eyes and was one of the nicest mice I had ever met, and I probably never will meet a mouse as nice again! He was brought into the RSPCA Centre at West Hatch, Somerset, UK when he was about 1 1/2 and that is quite old for a mouse. He was there for about one year, I always wondered how people could keep passing him by, and why he came into West Hatch is the first place! At that time there were a number of mice there including Biggles, Cornwall and Dorset, John and Devon. Even now I do not know why, or how such a lovely mouse could be there for so long.
One day dad asked if I would like a mouse. Of course, I said yes! It was a hard decision but I decided to adopt a mouse nobody else seemed to want. I got it down to Micky (female) or Bob, both white mice, but one with pink eyes one with black. I chose Bob.
Here is a picture of my lovely Bob, next to his favourite item; the food bowl!
Bob lived in a tank in my bedroom, and over the eighteen months I had him he blossomed. He learnt to answer to his name and come when he was called. Moved his bedding up to nine times a day, to different corners of his cage and was champion monkey nut sheller, both for style and speed! He also crawled up your arm and sat on your shoulder (he would eat up there!) or in the collar of a t-shirt, at the back of your neck!
They day I knew I'd have to have him put to sleep, I wrote this poem:
I had a mouse his name was Bob he was my very first pet,
But then one day he got very ill, I took him to the vet.
"If he was mine I'd have him put down," the vet, Alice, said,
But I did not want to think of my Bob mouse as dead.
I'd like to have him back when he was healthy and was fine,
Because now I think, he's living on borrowed time.
He used to be so lively, running round in his wheel,
Then he would climb out, and have a lovely meal.
But now he just sits there in the corner of his cage,
He's having trouble breathing, it really shows his age.
He's gone off his food, he doesn't eat a scrap,
I think very soon, he'll go into a lifelong nap.
I got some water put Bob's antibiotics in,
That's all I could do, the rest is up to him.
His swollen abdomen did shrink, right back down to size,
His breathing seemed to ease a bit in front of my own eyes.
But sadly Bob is too old, he will never get well,
So at 5 o' clock today he'll ring his final bell.
For then he'll have an injection, It'll put him to sleep,
But some loving memories I will always keep.
I brought his body home, and dug a little hole,
So then free from his body will be his soul.
A bush is planted on top of his grave,
So now I recall the things that he gave.
And every year when the bush comes into flower,
I remember my Bob mouse, and all of his power.