Rainbow Bridge
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown
One day we will again meet...
Nikki
January 6, 2012 - June 7, 2015
We mourn the loss of one of our breeder chins, Nikki. Nikki came to us from Chins by Design, as a top beige female. Shortly after arriving, another female got into her cage and injured her badly, pretty much scalping her. We rushed her to the vet, they sewed her up, and later she went back to deal with an abscess in the same area. She was named Nikki after Nicole (one of her breeders) because I wasn't sure how bad the wounds were, and didn't want her to die without a name. She pulled through that just fine. But more recently, I'd noticed her eating and slowed, but before I could get her to the vet to check that out, she passed. She was a good mom, who produced good babies -- one of her babies (Dillon) was a Reserve White Male at 2015 MCBA National. We are keeping him to continue having her lines in our herd. She was always a very sweet sweet girl. She was only 3 years old. She will be missed. In memory of Nikki.
Bailey
July 14, 2005 - May 13, 2015
We mourn the loss of one of our first chinchillas, Bailey. Bailey was one of our first four chins, and is Toby's half-brother. He came to us in 2006 as a 1 year old, and passed yesterday, 5/13. He'd lost a little weight recently which we noticed when weighing him, but not enough to make me think it was nearing his time. I had thought it was minor. I had literally just said, if I come back from this weekend and he's lost more weight, I'll take him into the vet Monday morning. Apparently that wasn't meant to be, because yesterday when I checked on him, he was gone. He was going to be 10 years old. He will be missed. In memory of Bailey.
Winx
August 2003 - December 27, 2014
We mourn the loss of our very first chinchilla, Winx. I bought Winx from a pet store in Terre Haute, IN when I went away for college. My friend Tiffany had gone there with me, not looking for a chinchilla, but we saw him and had to hold him. We returned the next day to take him home.
He was here when I got Moki, because I wanted him to have a friend. He was here when I got Toby and Bailey because I thought mosaics were such a neat color. He was here when I got the Crazy Critters herd of chinchillas and started showing. He was housed with Moki, and eventually Toby, until Toby beat him up, and both chins were caged separately. When Moki died, I let him sniff her and say his goodbyes, before she was taken to be cremated. When I moved to all ferret nations (and one critter nation) for rescue cages, he got prime real estate in the top of one of them. He would have had the entire cage, but he had a hard time hanging onto weight, and I didn't want him expending it all and exhausting himself to death. He would've had a buddy, but he got to the point where he didn't even want a kit with him, so he was left by himself in the cage.
He went to the vet numerous times as he got older. He just kept dropping weight, despite eating. Once they found he had teeth spurs, and filed the teeth down. That time it helped, but closer to the end, they couldn't find anything wrong. They filed his teeth down anyway, because there was nothing else they could do, but it didn't do anything. Everything was normal on his bloodwork. The x-rays were normal.
I bought him all sorts of supplements from all sorts of places. He was on an immune booster, an appetite stimulant, some general ones, and a big push in me making the NWI supplement was so that he would have something he would actually eat. He really did like those supplements. But he was still losing weight despite eating those and eating his own food.
When Shindig came around in August 2014, and offered chin painting, I took him with me. He was already weaker than I would have liked, but he did the painting with me. That would be the last time he would leave home.
The day before Christmas, I was tending to the chins, and noticed something seemed off with him. I opened the cage and he took a flying leap out. I returned him to his cage, but something wasn't quite right. He spent that night upstairs in my room, but I felt bad that he wasn't in his own cage, so I returned him back downstairs. He spent the next few days laying around the cage, with me doting on him, and finally passed in his hanging cube / bed that he loved so much on December 27, 2014.
An impression of Winx's pawprints were taken, a necklace pendant was made from his DNA, and he was cremated.
He will be missed. In memory of Winx.
Red
March 15, 2013 - December 13, 2013
We mourn the loss of one of our guinea pigs, Red. Red was born here, to Truffles and Pixie, on March 15, 2013. She was adopted out to a great home, with piggie friends, but found her way back to the rescue in September. There was a slim chance she might have been pregnant, so she was held for the potential two month period. Right around the time she was ready to be put up adoption, we found that she had passed on December 13. She was 9 months old. She will be missed. In memory of Red.
Clyde
2010 - October 7, 2013
We mourn the loss of one of our rescue chins, Clyde. Clyde came to the rescue with two female chins to to his owner's inability to care for them any longer. He was here for about a month, and was put up for adoption. One day, some volunteers noticed he was limping and half-dragging his left back leg. As the vet was closed that day (Sunday), and he was being quiet and not injuring himself further, we decided to give him pain meds and wait until Monday to take him in. I came home from work Monday to find that he had passed sometime during the day. We took his body in for a necropsy, but the vet found no obvious cause of death. They went out tissues to Purdue University's vet school for analysis. He was about 3 years old. He will be missed. In Memory of Clyde.
Haku/Dracula
2007 - October 6, 2013
We mourn the loss of one of our rescue chins, Haku. Haku came to the rescue due to his owner's inability to care for him any longer. He originally stayed here for about 2.5 months before an adoptive home came along for him. I was not sure he would get along with their current chinchilla, a black velvet named Frankenstein, but they asked to take him for an extended trial run to try a slow introduction, and the two chins ended up getting along wonderfully. They renamed him Dracula to go along with their theme. Unfortunately, about 2 months after that family had brought him into their lives, their chin died of a heart attack. Due to Dracula reminding them of their (since deceased) chin, they brought back Dracula to the rescue. Dracula was only here for about a week before one of our volunteers noticed that he did not move when he was placed into his dust bath. He was still alive, but was fading, and did not last long. He was about 6 years old. He will be missed. In Memory of Haku/Dracula.
Nytro
February 21, 2000 - September 29, 2013
We mourn the loss of one of our retired breeding chins, Nytro. Nytro came to our rescue through our herd sale, when he was younger, but maintained his good looks and fur quality into his old age and got a 2nd place at MCBA Nationals at 11 years old! He was all set to go to a new home (with his cagemate) the day he passed... but he must have wanted to pass at home, as he passed while his potential new home was holding and petting him. He was 13.5 years old. He will be missed. In Memory of Nytro.
Aston
2011 - September 27, 2013
We mourn the loss of one of our rescue chins, Aston. Aston came to the rescue due to a family that was moving and could not take him with. He stayed at the rescue for some time with his cagemate, Martin, before passing away unexpectedly on September 27. He will be missed. In Memory of Aston.
Bongo
2009/2010 - September 24, 2013
We mourn the loss of one of our rescue chins, Bongo. Bongo was dropped off at the rescue with his cagemate Baja. We knew that Bongo was a malocclusion chin when he was dropped off, though, since he had gone some time since his last filing, we were hoping he could eventually be re-homed as special needs. That apparently wasn't meant to be. Bongo was a sweetie, always coming right up to the front of the cage with Baja for their daily supplement. At the time he passed, he was not drooling, didn't have watery eyes, and was still eating like a champ -- so we would like to think that he was not in pain. He likely died of internal problems related to a previously bad diet and bad nutrition, complicated by the malo. He died in his sleep on September 24, 2013. He was about 3-4 years old. He will be missed. In Memory of Bongo.
Ally (little tot)
July 2004 - September 17, 2012
We mourn the loss of one of our rescue chins, Ally. Often referred to as "little tot," she was dropped off at the rescue by her owner on July 17, 2012. Ally was a very sweet chin, always wanting to come out of the cage and explore. She loved being held, petted, and talked to. She especially loved the skull & crossbones bed that we had bought for her and her cagemate, and could always be found, sleeping facedown in a ball on her bed. Unfortunately, Ally was already in the advanced stages of malocclusion when she came to the rescue. We were deciding whether or not the time was right to have her put down, when she made the decision for us, on September 17, 2012. Ally passed away in the early morning hours of September 17, 2012. She was about 8.5 years old. Her enthusiasm for people will be missed. In Memory of Ally (little tot).
Rascal
2012 - August 29, 2012
We mourn the loss of our rescue rat, Rascal. Rascal was a very sweet champagne & white male rat. Rascal came to us when a family found him walking around in their flower garden. He actually approached them and allowed himself to be caught. He was brought to the rescue and we put him in a nice tank with a hammock laid on the shavings for a comfy place to sleep. He drank and ate like nothing was wrong, and he slept on his hammock. Rascal passed on August 29, 2012. We estimate that he was about 4-5 months old. He will be missed. In Memory of Rascal. Play hard, little buddy.
Daisy (stolen from the rescue)
June 21, 2007 -- ???
We mourn the loss of our rescue chinchilla, Daisy. Daisy was a sweet chin that originally came to us with three other chinchillas -- Delilah, Kona, and Pompeii. We adopted out these four chins in pairs, Kona and Pompeii, and Daisy and Delilah. A few months later, we noticed Daisy and Delilah up on craigslist. As our Adoption Contract states that chins have to be returned to us, we contacted the owners and took the chins back in at the rescue. Daisy and Delilah had been here for just over a month, right past their evaluation period, when we had someone come over to look at rats. They showed up at the same time when I already had someone here. With my attention split between the two, I saw the people open a chinchilla cage, but I thought they just wanted to pet the chins. By the time I'd turned around, the cage was closed. I thought nothing more of it.... until two days later when I realized Daisy was missing. We scoured every inch of the basement, she was not here. The one person here had already adopted a rat from us, and it was the two people who gave him a ride here who took the chin. We contacted the person who'd adopted the rat. Through talking with him, and hearing about the people's suspicious behavior, it was pretty clear that they had taken Daisy. Our adoptive home tried to contact the people he knew, but the second they got wind that I knew they'd taken the chin, they wouldn't answer phone calls or texts. Unfortunately, all our adoptive home knew was there first names, and nothing more. With nothing to go on, we checked craigslist, and are still checking craigslist, for any sign of Daisy. I can only hope that she's out there being taken care of as she should be. I feel like this is the worst situation we could have put her in, as for all we know, they could have her in an aquarium, or could have her in a cage with tons of plastic shelves and no chew toys, or... well, who knows. When she originally came here, she was furchewed. She'd done significantly better here and most of her fur had grown back. When we got her back the second time, she was a bit furchewed, but through staying here, the fur was growing back again. I can only imagine what she looks like now. Poor Daisy even had an adoptive home lined up for her -- who had to be told the story of what happened. I really hope there is karma in situations like this.
Daisy, we miss you and hope you're still out there, and that someone brings you home one day.
Moki (our beloved alligator-chin)
2003 - May 19, 2012
We sadly mourn the loss of our alligator-chin, Moki. Moki was the second chin we ever owned, a hetero beige chin that we got from a pet store in Terre Haute, IN. She was originally named "Mocha," and we called her our "Mochacchino." Her tendency to bite hard with no warning earned her the title of our alligator-chin. She was herself and active almost until the last day. A few days prior to her passing, I noticed her stretching out in some weird places, but nothing that really caused me concern. The night before she passed, she was at the bottom of her cage in the front corner. After 9 years with a chin, you know when something's wrong, and I knew it was her time. She passed the following day, May 19, 2012. She was 9 years old. At the time, she was in a cage with Tallie, who was set to go to her new home a few days later. Tallie was very unhappy and expressed her displeasure about me removing her friend. Despite the bites, Moki was a great chin. We had even gotten to the point where I could pick her up and weigh her without gloves in the last few years. She will be missed. In Memory of Moki.
Tic and Tac (Lulu and Lilly)
March 2010 - March 18/20, 2012
We sadly mourn the loss of two of our rescues, Lulu and Lilly. Known to us as Tic and Tac, these sister chinchillas came to us in October 2010 when they were about 8 months old. One of the children of the family had developed a seizure disorder which was puzzling the doctors, and so the family made the decision that they no longer had time for their pets. We received Tic, Tac, and our prairie dog, Shiloh, from this family. Tic and Tac were originally adopted out at the end of October 2010. Later in summer 2011, their home fell on hard times and wanted to rehome them. I drove to Indy with a friend to pay for these chins to get them back to the rescue, as the home would not give them back otherwise. Tic and Tac stayed at the rescue until September 2011, when they were again adopted out and were renamed Lulu and Lilly. Unfortunately, the location of their cage caused too much noise for their new family, and they decided to bring them back to the rescue in March 2012. On an uncharacteristically hot day (high of 86) for March, they were brought back to the rescue and we were told that their car did not have air conditioning. We did our best to cool and hydrate the chins, to no avail. Tic passed of heatstroke on March 18, 2012, and Tac followed her on March 20, 2012. They had just turned two years old. These chins were great chins - always got along great and didn't bite. Tic and Tac will be missed. In Memory of Tic and Tac.
Shadow
June 2010 - 3/7/2012
We sadly mourn the loss of one of our rescues, Shadow. Shadow, formerly known as Wonka, came to us from someone who got in over their head with chins. He spent a month with us for his evaluation and was adopted out to a great family. He was one of the first chins we ever had the pleasure of "owning" that was potty trained. In his new home, with his new family, he taught two other chins how to be potty trained. Shadow was a good chin, always got along with others. In the end, he was brought back to the rescue on March 5, 2012, when his owners' landlord decided they could no longer have chinchillas. He passed unexpectedly several days later, a few months shy of two years old. He will be missed. In Memory of Shadow.
Jinx
2005 - 1/21/2012
We sadly mourn the loss of our standard female, Jinx. Jinx was one of our pet chins - specifically my mother's chin. Sadly, she developed surface malo, and went in for several filings. She was doing fine until, after her last filing, she developed a tooth abscess. As surgery was expensive and might not even save her, we made the decision to put her to sleep. It was a difficult decision for us, as she was still eating alright, still active, and still "Jinx." But under all of that was an abscess which could rupture at any time and could already be causing her pain. So we made the decision. We took her to Munster Animal Hospital, where they gave her a shot of anesthetic to "put her under," before they would give her the shot to put her to sleep. She was handed back to me after the shot of anesthetic, and she passed in my arms while I petted her. She wasn't strong enough to live through the anesthetic, much less the surgery (had we opted for that route). We got her pawprints on a clay memento (pictured below). We miss you Jinx! Puff misses you! In Memory of Jinx.
Cocoa
2007 - 11/26/11
We sadly mourn the loss of our tan female, Cocoa (previously known as Britta). Cocoa was one of our pet chins that sadly developed malo. Despite treatment and a special diet - which she ate right up until the day she passed - we were unable to save her. From what we know of her age, she was a few months shy of being 5 years old when she passed. This chin was a fighter. She struggled with malo for quite some time, and just didn't want to give up. She always ate like a champ, and she even ran on her wheel right up until the night before she passed. I hope there's lots of wheels in chinny heaven for her. She had been (seemingly) doing well, up until about a week before she passed, when she started slowing down a little bit. She passed in our arms on 11/26/11. She will be missed. In Memory of Cocoa.
Clover
1/10/03 - 9/28/11
We sadly mourn the loss of our standard JAGS female, Clover. Clover was, as our friend Amber so eloquently put it, our "bug eyed chin." We loved her big eyes and her sweet personality. Clover slowed down her eating slightly towards the end, then crossed the rainbow bridge unexpectedly on 9/28/11. She was 8.5 years old. She will be missed. In Memory of Clover.
JuneBug
4/20/03 - 2/4/11
We sadly mourn the loss of our hetero beige Baldwin female, JuneBug. JuneBug was attacked and killed by her cagemates, and crossed the rainbow bridge on 2/4/11. She was almost 8 years old. She was one of our "girls" and will be missed. JuneBug has been cremated and sits atop our chinchilla runs. In Memory of JuneBug.
Ollie
8/16/99 - 11/20/10
Ollie came to us at 11 years of age, and crossed the rainbow bridge soon after. Ollie passed on 11/20/2010. In this picture, Ollie is the chinchilla in the run - sadly, this is the only picture we have of him. However he did produce a kit with our Dreamz - "Sugar" - so his memory lives on. In Memory of Ollie.
Kankalls
5/25/05 - 10/21/10
We sadly mourn the loss of our black velvet Danko female, Kankalls. Kankalls passed on 10/21/10 from a respiratory infection, and will be missed. She was 5 years old. In Memory of Kankalls.
Cinder
9/9/09 - 9/11/10
We got Cinder in along with her two sisters as rescues. They were only around 5 months old, but all of them were already pregnant. Cinder passed away on September 11, 2010, from anemia resulting from a laceration in her uterus while giving birth. Cinder was barely 1 year old. Cinder has been cremated and sits atop our chinchilla runs. In Memory of Cinder.
JellBell
6/1/07 - 8/10/10
JellBell crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 8/10/10 of unknown causes. She was 3 years old. In Memory of JellBell.
Velma
2006 - 2010
Velma died of unknown causes in 2010. She was around 4 years old. In Memory of Velma.