R.I.P Sandy

My original plan for today was to start posting some blog entries about our family vacation. I'll start that tomorrow or so, but this is a little more important, in a trivial sort of way. My younger daughter's gerbil, Sandy died.

You may remember Sandy from his one and only role in the epic tale, "The Gerbil Odyssey" Sandy is survived by his owner E-ron, E-ron's sister, E-ron's father, and his wife. Memorial donations can be made to your local bar, in the form of a beer, tipped in Sandy's honor.

Sandy started getting sick a day or so before we went to California. E-ron called me into her room and showed me a little gerbil who was quite sick. His eyes were closed, he was lethargic, and his motor skills were pretty much non-existent. After a quick gerbil examination, I determined that the patient was suffering from malnutrition. (I based this diagnosis on the astute observation that there was no food or water was to be found in his cage, and because he was completely emaciated... nothing but skin and fur. My astute medical training determined that food and water was the best course of action, and I filled the food bowl and water dispenser. After waiting for a suitable amount of time (an hour or so), I checked on the patient. He was eating, but had almost no energy. Additionally, he was really cold. So I cupped him in my hands, gave him a couple of nuggets of food and a few drops of water, hoping that it would give him enough strength to help him subsist on his own.

She suggested a vet, but I couldn't bring myself to pay $100 for a $10 rodent. Instead, I suggested that Sandy might be okay. My main hope was that Sandy's health (or lack thereof) wouldn't ruin our family vacation for the poor kid. That hope was realized, but as soon as we got back, the kids charged in to the house, and before I even got into the house, my older daughter came flying back out, crying "Daddy! You killed Sandy!" My wife and I spent the rest of the night consoling our younger daughter.

Today, on my way home from work, I picked up a small box and invited Sandy's owner to decorate it in Sandy's honor. After she drew and wrote on it to her satisfaction, I placed Sandy in the box and dug a deep hole. I invited E-ron to say a couple of words, and place some dirt on her first pet's grave. Out of respect for her sensitivities, I bought two chrysanthemums... one was placed over Sandy's remains, and the other will be kept in the kid's room for as long as she'd like.

This whole experience was new territory for me. I've had pets, but I've never had one die... my first dog was given away before dying, and I moved out before the second dog died. I've never had to deal with a pet's death, and I've never had to console a grief-stricken child over the loss of a pet. In the end, I think I did as well as I could have. In fact, she's already talking about getting another gerbil.