# Sapphire



## candiceboggs (Dec 31, 2009)

Hello, everyone! I joined this forum not because I am a Fancy Mouse breeder, but because I am LOOKING for Fancy Mice breeders. I had trouble back in July-August finding a breeder, searched and searched the 'net and asked for references but to no avail. So we did the only thing we could do - PetSmart.  Not a good idea - I found out afterwards they do not get their pocket pets from anywhere but mills, though they talk like they get them from responsible places. I will NEVER, EVER do that again. We bought a pair, a golden FM we named Mirabel, and one of her sisters. After a couple of days we noticed her sister was not acting healthy and took her back to PetSmart because they guarantee within 15 days to take them to the Vet if they get sick. Awful treatment of us there. I doubt they took her at all or if they did, really gave her medicine or anything. She died and they didn't call me. I was calling several times a day for updates, which they never gave me (when they take them to the Vet they insist on refunding your money even though you tell them you will just pay it right back to get your pet that you are attached to).

All of the other mice in that litter of at least 6 died of the same upper respiratory problem but Mirabel and two other mice, one which we had to take back because she was aggressive and making Mirabel bleed, and the other WAS sick but had supposedly recovered and they were trying to sell again. We took her home since the mice had aged some and were afraid Mirabel would be pushed around by a non-littermate. Two days ago, this mouse, Sapphire, died. I had grown extremely attached to Sapphire. She was a beautiful white FM with gold spots, and the sweetest little baby you ever saw. The night before I noticed symptoms of what the first mouse had had and we planned to take her to the Vet the next day, but the next day she was gone! Today we took Mirabel to the Vet due to chattering we feared was a result of exposure to this mouse. She is on antibiotics and will be for the rest of her life.

This is my warning story for any other people looking for Fancy Mice - do NOT get them from pet stores. They don't care if you love them, they only care about money and not the health of the animals, or what kind of conditions they come from. It doesn't matter if they say they are "Vet Assured" as PetSmart does - do not believe it. It will most likely only mean a lot of heartbreak if you do.

I don't know how much time Mirabel will have left, but I am steeling myself for the worst. We will of course keep her on her antibiotics. I joined to see, for future reference (definitely not right now) if there are breeders in Northern Oregon or Southern Washington (my husband and I live in Vancouver).

I absolutely love Fancy Mice and wish I had known better with my first pair of FMs (we've raised and released orphan wild mice before). Granted, I've learned my lesson! I hope to gather to me a forum family of people who love them as much and who can take me under their wing, so to speak, to learn from. (I've read my Barron's Mice book a million times but it leaves out much crucial information, such as chattering being a bad thing, pet stores being dangerous, etc. I've had to find these things out through tough love and the internet.) Please help me find materials/advice that will educate me better!

I would like to post a poem I wrote for my little Sapphire. I can't truly express the pain of her passing, but here is my effort.

La Moment

Beautiful Sapphire, you had your own way
not a cloud, not a shadow did darken your day

The loneliest child's brave tears you could still
every moment of life you lived to the fill

As a friend, you were timeless, as family, so true
and all that you had and all that you knew
In truth, it was simple - was just to be you

My precious, my own, my

Sapphire

In Loving Memory 
12-28-2009


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

Hello and welcome.Sorry for your sad experience.


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

Oh.....sorry to read such a sad story. 
It sounds like Mirabel will be in good hands for whatever time she is with you 

I think you found the right forum
:welcomeany


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## harlequin stud (Dec 20, 2009)

hi there

hello and welcome to the forum i hope you find it useful
and make many friends

paul
www.harlequinstud.weebly.com


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

It's easy to see that you really loved your mousies. Pet store mice can be pretty awful; I have little choice since there are no breeders in my area, but I do have stringent quarantine enforced with them. I rarely use them for breeding anymore but just can't resist giving them a chance at living a good long life in my mousery.

Lovely memorial poem and welcome to the forum!


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