I am so sorry for the loss of your baby Allen. He surely was special. There is nothing more wonderful than a pet rat. Their personalities are so cute & unique. Their sense of curiosity is beyond anything else & where their curiosity takes them???? Oh my, the stories I am sure you have.

Your photos show the adorable personality so very well. I can definitely understand your melt down. I understand as I was in exactly the same place when I lost each of my pet rats. They always rode around on my shoulder & were so much a part of ME unlike any other pet can be. I bet you could put together some great little stories about Allen.....sort of a memorial. I still remember the absolute adorable things about Flower & Gus & I had them back in the 70's.

Yes, sadly, their life span according to my vet was only 2 1/2 years (not hardly long enough when we get so completely attached.

We get attached to rats because they are soooo very cute not based on life span......but then, even the longest living pets can end up with short life spans. We enjoy the time that God gives us to love them. Sometimes I think that my pets are the ones that truly taught me how to feel love (my rats being a huge part of that).

Time may lessen the pain of the loss, but the memories continue for a lifetime.

Thank you for sharing your pictures....I have to say, they do bring back wonderful memories that I had with my rats also.