# House Fire. Could they have survived?



## Shadowrunner

Tara just left me with a pile of lovely babies, I put them all in their cages and I get a call form my mom.
I'm between two homes during the week for school. 
All I could make out from her frantic hollering was that my childhood home and everything in it is gone.
Just gone.
I had 39 mice, three parrots all older than me, three dogs, 6 cats and all of my worldly possessions in that house.

She said she had to pull my grandmother off of the cockatoos cage so she wouldn't die.

know he's gone, how could he survive that. She doesn't know about my mice.
Is there any way they could have gotten out? I don't know.
I can't find anything online either.

Out of all the animals the only ones accounted for is my old cat and the wolfdog. That's it.

What do I do now? 
I had a plan in place to save them in case of a fire, but I wasn't there...
Gone. I can't believe it, there's no way. they can't be all gone.


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## morning-star

oh gosh!  I'm so sorry to hear this!

I'm sorry but it depends if the fire got into the same room as them or not? but then the smoke would be a problem throughout the whole house. I very much doubt they could have survived sadly. I hope that at the least the other cats and dogs got free/ran away in fear, and will try to find their way back, or they get found by the pound.

I hope your family are ok at least?


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## candycorn

Omg! I just got home. I am soooo sorry. Did it burn to the ground? Is the fire out yet? Can you get over there? Oh god..your poor animals. Dear Dexter...so sad. At least you just gor his grandchildren.


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## SarahY

Oh my goodness, how awful! I'm so sorry xxxx


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## Laigaie

Oh, gods, I am so so sorry. Whether they've survived will depend entirely on how extensive the fire was, and how extensive the water damage was when they were putting the fire out. If they have, you have the luckiest stars in the sky. I cannot fathom your loss. If we can help, let us know.


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## Shadowrunner

We just found a picture online. It says the pets got out but my mother told me she only got the cat and rydag.

The fire was at the back of the house, where the African grey and the cockatoo live. The mice are ALL the way on the other side of the house. 
It said the majority of the damage was there, and I always keep my bedroom windows open. There is a tiny chance they may have made it but I don
t want to hope too hard. Thanks for the support guys, I'll et you know when I know it. <3

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-house-fire-0222-20120221,0,6185562.story


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## SarahY

Please do. We're all thinking of you xxx


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## Shadowrunner

So far they found lucky and lizzy, two of the cats. Rocco, one of the dogs.
All three parrots are gone. No word on the mice yet.

That brings the list to, Rydag(wolf) ,Lucky, lizzy and rocco. 4 out of 41.
Grandmother is in shock. Not surprising. She's lived in that house since she married my grandfather at 15.
He died in that house, those birds were her life, those animals are her life. *sigh*
All I have to do now is figure out a way o deal with it. 
I'm the mellow one, if I start freaking out, nothing good will come of it.


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## Stina

Oh wow.....I'm so sorry


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## moustress

WAH!!!  How awful for you! I wish there was something I could do or say to help you feel better...just utterly sad. I'm glad your mom and grandmom made it out safe, and though it might not seem so, it's good YOU weren't in there, as you could have gotten hurt.

I know what it's like to lose a whole bunch of mousies at once. *hug*


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## Shadowrunner

Thanks guys. I really does help a lot.
I'll keep updating too.

My sister just walked through my room where I keep my mice. She said there are fire track marks all across my walls so all my paintings are peeled and cracked.
She said she thinks the mice are all dead but she didn't actually look into the cages.
The cockatoo ghost is dead for sure. He was trapped in his cage.

I'm glad I wasn't there because my three year old son would have been traumatized.
However, I really regret not being there. I'm paranoid.
I have stores of food in the basement in case of zobies. I have huge containers of water and batteries in case of a power out.
I have a preloaded, small boat in the backyard in case of a flood.
I have things set up for EVERY crisis.
I had a plan. No one would take the time and humor my request to learn the plans.
Because of that they all died. I have a basket at the foot of my bed specifically for lowering the mouse cages down to safety in a fire.
It's ridiculous. The birds..I wouldn't have been able to save the African gray, but I know I could have gotten ghost.

The cats are dead too. It feels unreal because all I've seen is a tiny picture online.


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## Shadowrunner

Not a oven malfunction. They revised the investigation. Get a hold of this final destination crap.

There was a propane tank on the back deck. It developed a leak. The gas is heavier than ai so it sank down to the ground where it leaked into the basement throough a cracked window. It then seeped into the heater room, where it met with the furnace and exploded. Then the fire traveled up through the oil tank and exploded that.
They couldn't even get the African gray's body, he was incinerated in his cage. They tried to get ghost the cockatoo out but he was flapping and hollering and the firemen yanked them off the cage and abandoned the bird who they had to watch die as they left. That bird was there before I was even born. Then the fire ripped through the attic engulfing the hallway and my room and all the mice in it. The newborns, the weanling,the adults..every last one. My bed was too heavy for the weakened floor and was blazing just as hard as the rest of the house, iot fell through the floor and into my grandfather's old workshop.
He built model trains. The room was full of spray paint cans, flammable paints, glues and a host of other super flammable stuff. No one knew it was there because we haven't stepped foot in there since he died 7 years ago. The cats however decided to hide there when they fire broke out. Bad Idea. All of them except for two died.

I just took BC(black cat) to the vet for a limp. I have an appointment for tomorrow at the exotic vet for rydag's shots and to get baytril for a few of my mice...
It took three hours to work up the courage to call.(anxiety issues) An hour after confirming the appointment....this?
How is that fair?

Redcross has them set up in a hotel now. I hate my life sometimes.


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## candycorn

I am so sorry dear! Truly. It's devastating to think of loosing so many beloved pets. 
At least you know where you can start over with mice. *hugs* Was the house insured? Will they be able to rebuild?


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## Shadowrunner

Everything valuable was insured. Everything from my netbook to the TV will be replaced but we all know those things are trivial.
It will take 6 months to make it livable again, but I've always had a home with my boyfriend so I'll be fine. 
The things that bother me most are the photos, my grandfather's stuff, and of course the last moments for my guys.
The garage with the ford 50's and the thunderbird caught and melted one of the cars. I'm not sure if insurance will cover that, but it will cover the Rav 4.
Lol. We park the car near the house. The right side of the car is normal but the left side of the car is melted to the metal.

It could have been a lot worse, I'm grateful for that but I wish it could have been less painful for the dears.

At least I was still smaller scale, and was only two or three generations in.

But I had a few mice in there that were just..special. Blue bell , lamb, ranicorn and dexter.
Lamb was the little rex out of dexter and fudge. I don't have any rex babies any more. 
I just realized that. I finally felt comfortable with what I had too.
But your right. I can start over. This time I'll know what to do too.

Oh my. I think I recently mentioned I wished I had known more about mice before initially buying stock .
Talk about being careful for what you wish for.

Nikolai is going to be heartbroken.


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## Autumn2005

So sorry for your loss! This is just heartbreaking to read!


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## Shadowrunner

Thank you<3
I'm known for having a bad memory. 
Maybe two years down the road this will look a lot better.

Three of he surviving animals are at the Emergency vet, no burns just smoke inhalation.
No word on where Rydag the wolf is, but I know a neighbor helped him to safety.
I'll have to remember to thank which ever brave guy that was and applaud myself for insisting he meet everyone in the surrounding area.

Someone is coming for me tomorrow so I can get whatever things I can. Allthough I doubt it will be much since my floor is GONE.
Good thing I packed up extra clothes for nikolai. Poor dude. He loves the mice (dare I say) more than I do.

I don't think I should let him see it in that state. I'll just explain to him that it's broken and needs a house doctor.

I don't know how yet but I'm going to document this. The same way my grandfather documented building it, and then building the addition.
I wonder if the stained glass hummingbird window he made for the kitchen survived.

OH! My first silver lining. We had skylights in the kitchen from when the addition was built. Trolol
They leaked everytime it rained because they were installed wrong. No more worrying about that or the mold I *knew* was hiding under the wall.. WIN!


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## WoodWitch

Our thoughts are with you xx


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## SarahC

that's a truly terrible thing to happen,I'm really sorry for you and your family and of course the animals .


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## Shadowrunner

It is awful but I bet you anything, my family will no longer mock me when I insist on doing drills 
for every crisis I can think of.

Another silver lining. About two months ago we brought home some groceries in paper bags. A roach came out of the seam.
We were going to break down and get an exterminator. NO NEED NOW > no more pest problem. I call that an achievement.

Everything flammable Exploded. The propane tanks, the oil tank for the heater, the oven's propane tank, the chemicals in the basement..everything.

You can see my room through the hole in the roof. These people really need an editor. 
They say no pets died, and they also said something like no one was home but managed to evacuate in time. ;
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/...-aberdeen-home-2-dogs-rescued/#comment-180489

I found something more than a blurb. This is the first time I'm seeing pictures of my house. I threw up. I did.
I don't even know why but I totally threw up all over the floor. Not sure weather I should laugh about that or not.
http://aberdeen.patch.com/articles/5-escape-montreal-drive-fire#comment_2534845

I talked to my mom. RYdag nearly died and the people who saved him hate wolves. They nearly died cutting him free.
The dog run wheel had jammed leaving him 10ft from the house. The oiltank in the back yard exploded and set the plastic siding on fire. That started to melt and fall to the grass that is old and dead. SO poor rydag was stuck in a yard that was catching on fire. She said she'll never forget the sound of him screaming at the end of that rope. His tail is burned, and the people who saved him have burns on their hands from the plastic coating on the dog run cord.
She says my room and all the mouse cages are covered in soot. What's not sooty is waterlogged. 
She said that the fire ripped through the house so rapidly she's surprised anyone is alive. The floors were falling into the basement, the walls were shriveling.
My grandmother tried to say something to her and she could see the fire eat through the walls in holes right behind her.
The gray and ghost were dead before they had time to even recognize the fire for what it was. The house had smoke billowing out of it..it's ridiculous.

Good thing I had the foresight to put a ton of my stuff into storage after the last flood.

I still can't believe Rydag lived through that, much less that people known for going out of their way to eliminate wolves would save one .
Thanks will be mandatory and many.

I'm going to bed. Hopefully things will look better in the morning.
If not I'll have the morning after, and that's what's important.
I'll keep you guys updated.<3


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## Emfa Mouse

I am so sorry this happened to you. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose everything that ever meant something to you. My deepest sympathy xx-oo


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## tinyhartmouseries

Words simply cannot express my sympathy to you and your family. I know that words must mean very little in such an awful, devastating time as this, but please know that I wish your family much strength and courage in the days to follow, and eventual peace. Much, much love.<3


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## Frizzle

Its always hard to come up with something to say when tragedy strikes. You also have my heartfelt sympathy. *hug*


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## moustress

My heart just aches for you, Shadowrunner; so, did I understand correctly that a few of your mousies survived?

I'm heartened to see you trying to look at the good side of things. When I lost about 200 mousies from a space heater malfunction, I was sick at first, and then just numb as I loaded little dead furry bodies into Ziplock bags. I wa completely shut down as I did that; I couldn't have gotten through it. I did stop from time to time to say, "Oh, 'insert mouse name here', but I didn't cry until the next day when I posted about it in here. Folks were just so wonderfully understanding and supportive; they really knew what it meant to me to lose all those mousies.

And we understand your loss like no one else could. I'm so glad all your family is doing OK; losing the parrots is a big deal, they are so long lived. I lost a couple of fairly old box turtles during a spate of flu (the real thing, not just something I called flu) combined with pneumonia; they can catch stuff from humans, and they just died during the week one after the other of us in the family were all sick. I'd had one of those for almost 20 years.

I wish I could reach my arms through the screen and give you a big hug. *hug xoxo*


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## Shadowrunner

Taking a nap helped. My face hurts less now.

The only mice I know are alive are the ones tara dropped off with me today before it happened.
I haven't seen the house in person yet. My mom is coming for me in the morning so I can save whatever I can.
People are pouring out of the woodwork to offer help. My uncle and my mother have hated each other for years and they actually SPOKE today.
My sister tried to check the cgaes but they were being rushed and they were covered in soot.

Mom said the only ones that stand a chance are the ones in cages I left on the floor because I was too lazy to put them back on the top shelf.
I kept them high up on my book-stand because I didn't want the cat getting them. I also made sure the cages had tons of ventilation.
Smoke would have gotten the tricolor Dexter and his daughter. It would have also gotten ranicorn and her babies with him. he newborns I was so excited for.
The roof sort of collapsed too. I still have hope for maybe one or two survivors. But I don't want to hope too hard.

Ghost was over 30 years old. Gobo was 25 and scooter was my grandfathers bird. He outlived my grandfather by ten years at the age of 40. He could have easily made it to 100 years, they all could have. We had it worked out so I would inherit the birds and Nikolai would get them after I became old and decrepit.

Thank you moustress, I've run across some mentions of he "accident" you had before and I always wanted to say something, but didn't think you'd appriciate me bringing it up just to express empathy. I don't think I would be a sane person right now without the support I've gotten here. You guys are amazing.
And inspiring. I considered letting them go entirely, the meecers and not breeding again. I let bird go, I let my cats go. 
I don't think it will do my dead meece any good if I deprive myself of that joy out of loyalty, I actually think it would be like dismissing them and what they ment to me.
Other than the forums I'm your typical friendless looser and those mice made the solitude bearable, even enjoyable.
I'll always love them for that and I'll always remember them. I just wish I could have done something more to protect them. 
I'll be investing in some solar powered air purifiers, fire prevention and I'm going to convert my camper into a mousery. They wouldn't have died if they had been separate from the house. The house caught fire, the garage caught fire, the cars in the driveway melted, but my crappy 40 year old camper that hardly works is in fine shape,lol.

I just want to say thank you guys again, but that's a gross understatement.

*hugs all peoples back*

My Japanese teacher is going to wig out. She has a strict policy on calling 24hrs ahead of time to let her know your not making it to class.
But I haven't missed a single session and I've always been annoyingly early so she'll have to get over it and realize missing a class is out of character for a geek. xD


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## maddeh

I'm absolutely speechless. How devastating! I don't understand why all reports say that the pets were unharmed though... 
I love how everyone on this forum is here for you, which is why I am a part of it. Mouse breeders are such lovely people 
I hope that you and your family get through this, and am glad to hear that despite the tragic circumstances, it has brought people together and that your neighbours even saved your dog. 
My thoughts are with you x


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## NuttySian

I'm so so sorry  Sending you good thoughts and hugs x


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## Alex

I have just got in from work and am sitting reading this in something near a state of horror. I am so terribly deeply sorry for your loss. I am so very far away, otherwise i'd be round there helping out in whatever way possible. I know how you feel - when i was a teenager and kept show pigeons and chickens, a gang of thugs broke in and killed them all. Over 20 years later I still think of it in sheer horror.
Keep well, and remember to eat.


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## moustress

Shadowrunner, after my accident, I really felt like I should stop breeding mousies. I was emotionally gutted and couldn't bare to think of raising any more after the horror. After the cleanup, I got to bed, tossed and turned, couldn't sleep, started thinking about what I had left.

At about 1:30am, I had to get out of bed and go to the mousery to take stock of what was left, and saw that I could recover what was lost by extracting the recessives that were there in my remaining stock. My satin fawn line was closest to my heart, and I lost every single one of those, but I had an accidental litter off a satin fawn. I had four bucks who were red satin, three self, one pied, who all survived as they were on the bottom shelf, and didn't bear the brunt of the heat. I knew I had pied agouti does who were heterozygous in all locii. It took three generations, textbook to the T, to get my fawns back, but I have my first all fawn litter just about to open it's eyes today!

I can't imagine living without mousies! I adore them; and I know what it's like to lose special individuals. No matter how many come and go in my mousery, there will always be a handful who are more dear to me than others, and it still brings tears to my eyes to lose one of those little cuddlebuddies.

At least, with mousies, you can recover fairly quickly, and it sounds like you have the resiliency to bounce back and do it even better than before. You are in my thoghts and prayers, hon.


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## Cait

I can't even begin to imagine how horrible this must be for you. You mustn't blame yourself for not being there although I'm sure we'd all do the same. I'm glad that some of the pets survived and that you have neighbours who realised how important it was to help save them, even though they weren't animal fans themselves.


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## Shadowrunner

Guys I had a really tough day. But I have wonderful news. 
For some reason all of my cages were on the ground and open. I could only find about half of the bodies. I discovered rani covering her babies, all of which appeared to be dead. However one squealed when I moved him. I got him warm but he eventually died. poor baby. I have several of cindy's mice alive. Blue bell is alive as is alice.
We found our siamese cat ayla hiding in the basement. RYdag knocked me over over joyed to see me and covered me in mud. I'm covered in soot but happy I guess because a few of them are here. Dexter died but I have a grandson of his that is just as sweet. I'll keep you updated. I'm being hurried away to join the others at a hotel. <3


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## moustress

Thanks so much for the update; so you managed to get into your room, that's good! I'm so glad that you found a few little miracles among the wreckage, especially the few mousies. I remember thinking that all my meeces had died when I first opened the mousery door, then finding some alive...but it doesn't compare to losing your home and all your stuff. Goddess bless those neighbors who rescued your wolfdog. I bet finding the kitty in the basement was quite a surprise!

You'll get through this; I believe everything, even the worst of it, happens for a reason, even if that something is just strengthening of character. When I got home today from work I looked first for an update on this, instead of the usual 'ego scanning' for comments on my posts of earlier. You will continue to be very much on my mind and in my heart.


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## AyJay658

I am so sorry. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be to experience. Mostly because of the pets...my pets mean my whole life and I cannot imagine how it must feel to lose so many in one day. But thank god you found some of your mice alive and your cat. They will mean all the more to you because of this. I am so sad for you and you are in my prayers too. I am so very sorry about your granddads creations and workshop too. I am a bit of a hoarder myself so I know how hard it is to lose that sort of thing especially photographs. God bless you and your family. Who knows, you may keep finding small silver linings. I agree that everything that happens has something good to give from it. Bless you all.


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## Autumn2005

At least you have some good news! I know this is horrible, but it's so much better to know it's not a total loss.


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## Alex

I'm so glad that you found some survivors!


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## Shadowrunner

Hey guys . Im on the cell phone so sorry for any odd grammer. I took rydag and the 6 survivng mice to the vet. All clear of congestion. She said if they were going to die from smoke it would have already happened. They look so happy and alert in thier new clean cage . I spent all afternoon digging through the fiberglass insulation that was soaked on the floor for bodies. I couldnt find them but now i have a rash lol. We found another cat in rough shape but alive  i spent a ton of time washing salvageable water bottles in the hotel bathtub. It has hot water that NEVER runs out. Despite my best efforts the tub cages are stained black. Everything smells like burnt plastic. I showered three times and i still look like a coal miner. Also the inspector said today that repairs will take longer than expected. The oil tank that exploded was right by the house and the force crumbled the foundation all the way down. The fire marshal was surprised the house was still standing. Im taking pictures tomarrow and uploading a video to youtube. Ill post links here. Itll help me deal with it i guess. Trolol mommom always wanted an upstairs bathroom...looks like she can get one now. The kitchen that was there is ...you open the door..and its a 10 ft drop to the backyard. Nothongs there


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## m137b

I am soo heartbroken at your lost, Please let me know if I can do any thing for you. or if you need anything.


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## Shadowrunner

I forgot to mention.. Cheyenne , my sister named ranicorn.
She was really upset today because she,dexter and all thier babies died. So - decided to let her name all of the new babies.
I couldn't come up with anything anyway...so heres a list.

Splash boys...
Flip, Flop,Doodly,Bop.

Splash girls...
Hinga,Dinga, Durgen

PEW boy..
Peppermint butler (peppy for short)

I named the two blue tans. The boy and girl.
The nbuck is pheonix ..obvious enough.
And the girl is Auria which is latin for wind spirit.

I thought you guys would get a kick out of the
Names she picked. Im never sure if Ill regret letting her name them or not XD


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## Frizzle

Yay, Peppermint Butler! The legacy lives on. : )


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## candycorn

LOL those names are adorable! I hope they grow into amazing little mice for you!


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## Kingnoel

I was so happy to hear that some of your babies survived  PLEASE don't think of yourself as a friendless loser. If it's what you want, your friends here will help you restock in no time, I'm sure!


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## Tikmio

Your a strong strong soul, you really are. Too lose my one bearded dragon Dexter would be the end of the world for me  Your house is gone, your stuff is gone, your poor poor parrots are gone. But I'll promise you will start to have good luck. Look what you've already gotten, your amazing wolfdog, your 2 cats, and even some of the dear special mice  It will only get better. If breaking a silly mirror gives you 7 years of _bad_ luck. Loosing nearly everything should be about a lifetimes worth of extra good luck. In the end, this message will mean nothing but a mere thought, but at least you will know how many people you don't even know are with you. I really hope you can keep us updated with all the good news! I hope your son is not too badly traumatized, at least he's young so he can get a better grip on it when he's older  I wish you the best luck :love1


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## Alex

Flip, Flop,Doodly,Bop...
CLASSIC! It sounds like the start of a cheesy 60s song! Cool! :lol:


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## MoonfallTheFox

I know you're busy, but I do hope you are alright my dear. I'm glad you found some of your sweeties..and so happy your neighbors saved Rydag. -more hugs-


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## tinyhartmouseries

I am so happy to hear of some good luck in the middle of all this...keep strong, I am so glad you found some mice!


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## SarahC

I'm glad that there is some good news for you in this terrible trauma.I suppose we've all tried to imaginge how we would feel to be in your shoes  .Best wishes,x.


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## Shadowrunner

I'm so sorry moon fall. I feel like I'm neglecting you <3 
All of you guys actually. It feels better everyday. I'm used to dealing with crisis.
Moping about it won't help. I can feel sad,sure but I have to keep.moving forward or nothing will get done. I took a bunch of pictures and I'm trying to get en up. All I did today was study and make a million phone calls. All the people on this floor of the hotel have lost Thur homes too. We looked at rentals yesterday. The thing that gets me, is I Was just thinking a day before hand that..that was a bad place to have a propane tank.I was going to move it . But something distracted me...


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## MoonfallTheFox

It's okay, I am just worried. <3 You lost a lot and I want to make sure you're alright.

I hope you find a good place. Where is Rydag now?


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## moustress

Don't second guess yourself, Shadowunner. The coulda woulda shoulda game is a big gumption drain as it's pointless. I could go back and tell myself 'if only I'd have checked the mousery first thing in the morning, maybe my mousies wouldn't have died', after my accident. I blocked that out by telling myself, and that enacting that 'I'm going to be an even better mousery operator from now on.'
My mousery is now the cleanest room in the house outside of the bedroom. (We won't mention the clutter in the room outside the mousery.....noooo!....  )

It was out of your hands, so you can do yourself a favor, and try to let it go, hon. None of us are perfect.*hug*


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## Zowie

I'm glad some of your mice managed to survive!

Moustress: I hope you don't mind my asking, but what happened to your mice? I hear you mention an accident but I've never known what exactly happened


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## Shadowrunner

I know I guess that's just something I had to deal with.

Rydag is with a old family friend on thier farm. Apparently he's a natural at herding sheep...so long as he doesn't eat hedm O.O;;;
I'm considering letting them keep him. They've asked a million times. It's a stable home, he has a job he's good at and is a happy little fart.
It would kill me to loose another pet, but it might be what's best for him.

I spent the last few days shoveling debri out my bedroom window. FOund another body too.
It was the adorable chocolate rex out of dexter and rani. Poor dude. His new owner was coming to pick him up the next day.
Oh well.
I think the survivors are tierd of me.
I'm loving them to peices.

*crosses fingers* I think blue bell is preggers.
She's the first blue I ever saw anfd ever owned.
She's the oldest, sweetest, toughest mouse I have.
Unfortunately she's alo the one that ;lacks most type wise (wonderful color though)
I put her in with the typy blue tan male...so if im right this is a litter of firsts.
First blues I've produced (HUUGE milestone) First show/pet type crosses and first abies since the fire.
They will be...spoiled.

I have 6 adults left. Blue bell is getting old so this her last if she is pregnant.

Hey tara can splahes be...fox? If so I think a few of the does are.

At least I don't have to make painful choices about which lines to focus on now. lolol

I swear I'll have pictures up soon. I was going to upload them tonight but my grandmother vanished with the camera.

I'll upload them to flickr and post a link here...there are like a bilion pictures...that way you don't need to scroll down a hundred tiomes <3


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## moustress

It's so good to hear from you, Shadowrunner. I figured you'd be out of touch having so much to deal with sorting out the remains of what you recovered from your house. It sounds like Rydag has a good place to stay for however long you need him to be there.

I remember after my accident enjoying having extra time to enjoy the ones who survived; I picked a drab shaggy old buck and made him my special cuddlebuddy; he's surprised me by surviving to this present day. Old Ferguson is 2 yrs. old, and isn't as active as he used to be, and doesn't like traveling on my shoulder anymore , so I'm training in Peanut, a scrawny little champagne pet store 'rescue' I got over the holidays. It's one of my musts, that I have a mousie who is special to me only because he's a mousie, and not because he has some special breeding, as I just adore meeces, no matter what kind.

I'm sure your surviving mousies are enjoying the extra attention you give them; they will get used to it and expect it now, so be good!


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## Shadowrunner

yup yup. My little noob self found the old gal back in september looking really poor already.
I love dilution genes. Both my cats would be blue pies if they were mice. ALl the birds I bred are blue equivilants..heck even in my sims games all the animals I keep are black or blue. All I had ever seen in petco was PEWS,agoutios and black..then I walk in one day and there she was like "ohai there". Nearly crapped my pants. I know what you mean though. SHe's had one litter, sure but she's my marshmellow in mouse lothing. I'm so glad she madre it. And her little "foster daughter" alice too. That one was a rescuse. Way too young to be weaned. blue bell just took her in. cute little buggers.

Oh god, if only you knew. My grandmother is a pack rat, so is my mom and uncle.
There was 7 people and 50 something animals in that house. you can imaginge just the sheer amount of CRAP
I had to get out of there. Quite literally using a snowshovel.

Trolol. Five hours in I decided to go to the gas station to get some tea. This guy was staring at me. I realized I'm head to foot
covered in insulation and soot. I look like I've been coal mining.
I was like "full o' the black gold dey is tuh-day" Flashed him a thumbs up.
xD (he did one of those "ll just back away slowly" things)

These guys... Are spoilred. I'm eating mcdonalds and chineese take out.
They have eggs, chicken soup, grains, oatmeal...I'll cook for them but not me.
Makes total sense.

I found My nintendo DSi under my gross bed today too. INDESTRUCO game.
I turned it on. The thing works and I'm so glad too because I just took like a millioon pictures of ghost, the cockatoo on it the day before he died.

I'm sorry you lost your meeces moustress, but I'm glad someone knows how totally in shock you can be for a while.
I went through initailly, and still do in my head. "Oh dexter you poor guy" or "Hi there rani, nice weather huh?"
I sounded insane apparently. Didn't hit me until a few days ago.

apparently I don't have spell check on this.. fail.


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## moustress

Nintendo stuff is built tough; when my kids were mittle we have multiple games go through the washer and dryer, and they worked just fine.

Yeah, I still have pangs of loss thinking about some of the ones I lost, like my yellow/red tricolors...and my special cuddlebuddies. I'm at the point, though, that I get a bigger pang at losing one of the current favorites. I still have about 8 meeces who survived that misfortune.

Somedays I spend more time cooking for the meeces than I do for the spouse an myself.


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## Autumn2005

moustress said:


> Nintendo stuff is built tough; when my kids were mittle we have multiple games go through the washer and dryer, and they worked just fine.


Lol, I still have an old N64.... It (mostly) works, but the graphics are really really bad on our big HD TV, so we hardly ever play it.


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## Shadowrunner

Lol our N64 still works and we always just used our big old crappy TV.
I still have the pokemon stadium games. It's pretty crazy. I never buy new games, I always wait until the prices drop.

That's the cool thing about grief I think. always there but time blunts it. pfff.

It's been great being able to rest today. I didn't haveto go anywhere, do anything or call anyone today. WOOT.


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## Tikmio

We've had our Wii for a bit now...


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## moustress

I'm glad you can take the time to catch your breath; I'm sure there will be a few weird weeks at least until you can get settled in a temporary home, then you'll need to move again, I guess, if your family is rebuilding.

Don't be surprised if grieg and/or anxiety stick their ugly heads up just when you think you are 'over it'. I lost everything I owned in a weird fire in a trailer when we were moving when I was about 9, and I've never completely recovered. It turned me into a sort of hoarder, especially with clothes and books.At least we had a house to go to, though, and all the furniture was OK.

Yes, I do know a bit about what you are going through, hun. *hug*


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## Emfa Mouse

Autumn2005 said:


> moustress said:
> 
> 
> 
> Nintendo stuff is built tough; when my kids were mittle we have multiple games go through the washer and dryer, and they worked just fine.
> 
> 
> 
> Lol, I still have an old N64.... It (mostly) works, but the graphics are really really bad on our big HD TV, so we hardly ever play it.
Click to expand...

Lol same!! It's amazing!! Also once I jumped in a river with two DS games in my pocket and they still worked :lol: I'm so stupid


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## Shadowrunner

I think it'll have the oppisite effect on me. My mom and grandmother keep everything, I've always kept the minimal amount of stuff I can.
Maybe if there's another fire, and I have fewer things, I'll loose less. But eh, who knows.
As long as I get my lines back I'll be decently happy. Can't bring ghost back though. The little bugger.
He had his foot amputated last christmas after he got it tangled in some crappy tpoy of his.
He hated me up until about two weeks ago because I was the one who had to give him his meds.
We had just started to rebond too. She almost had him, but I don't think he'd survive even if she had gotten him.
The entire house is "painted" black upwards of three feet off the floor. You can ell how thick the smoke was, and ghost was a old dude.
At least I have the pictures of him. I think I'll post some of him once I get he camera.
I made sure when I bought this computer, that it had a built in SD card reader,lol.

I sent my pokewalker through the laundry and it worked still xD
Whenever I jump in a river I'm in a bathing suit so I've never had that problem.

Strange, I thought I was one of the only ones who jumped into random bodies of water


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## Emfa Mouse

Yeah, I was just in shorts and a t-shirt when it happened....

I'm so sorry about Ghost. And the house. And everything.  I feel as if my words are useless. No matter how many times I say I'm sorry it doesn't bring back all you've lost. And for that I am truly sorry


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## MoonfallTheFox

I have kept everything for ages, but when I go through trauma it gets worse haha. Like when my bird died. Now I am trying to retrain myself. My room has been pretty gutted, it's clean and organized now, so I am trying to teach myself to NOT keep all sorts of crap. I'm doing well. :3 My room is still clean.

I'm sorry you're going through this crap D: /saying repeatedly

Let me know if there is anything you need in June, I'll bring it when I visit for AC. <3


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## Shadowrunner

Cool beans <3 With any luck (ifn you want)
You could go home with a shiny typey mouse my friend. Blue bell looks all preggers and junk.
SHe's so old lol. Fit as a fiddle though.
I'll let you know by then if I do and thankies.

I know what you guys mean.
I don't mean to make you feel bad either.
Just having people yto talk to about it helps...I can't even express how much.
I'm the calm one, so I'm under pressure to stay "perfectly adaptable"
If I freak out, me, the one who handles any crisis best..I can only imagine how
much that would scare my more vulnerable family members.
It takes all my paitence to deal with MR.nikolai and not run out of tolerance.
He's been feverish for the last few days and clingier than a aby koala. lol.

So when I come on here and I can actually express what's going on in my head, well that's
a huge relief.

Ghost was a wacky dude. I'm so glad I had him as a friend for so long.
I seriously thought he was immortal. xD My grandmother even set it up so
I would be his caretaker after she died. I don't think she ever expected to outlive him.
I tell you what though,and I hate to say it.
I don't miss the screaming.
seriously. Youtube has a million videos of them doing it.
Even when they are happy, they scream. All hours of the day.
You know they are up to no good when they are silent. lol.


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## MoonfallTheFox

Hahaha Angel does make tons of noise. When she isn't I am always concerned she's found something she can't have.

Ooo, I don't know if I can take a mouse on a plane though. They might not like that.


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## Shadowrunner

hmm.

Okay, as promised(several times) and after many hours of tryiong to find loopholes in
image hosting sites I have managed to upload quie a few images online. I tried to narrow it down to the most interesting shots, but it's
still a lot. So I'm pretty sure looking only at a few will serv the purpose if you feel like it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## Tikmio

Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. That looks bad...


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## Emfa Mouse

Oh Shadowrunner, my deepest sympathy. I cannot believe how much you've been through. You are such a strong person. I really admire you


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## moustress

Wow. Just, wow.

The pix really bring it home; pretty devastating. Words fail me. *hug*


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## Shadowrunner

Thanks guys. I was away from home when it happened, and only had a few pictures so I know what you mean.

Monday morning, I can't wait!
We are moving into the rental and I can get away from this hotel.
It looks shiny at first and the rooms are great but the staff are so snobby.
No, I'm not wearing a designer suit. Yes the insurance company is paying, but who the hell do you
think paid the insurance for 50 years? Stop being rude to me and my grandmother. Goshes! x'D


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## Tikmio

Good luck on the new house!


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## Shadowrunner

Thanks! 
It's really big by my standards, and it has a pool in back! I love swimming and I haven't had
a chance to since my son was born. I practically lived in a local river during summer.
The only thing I'm worried about is rydag. He's on a friend's farm now where he is taken care of.
But the pool sucks up what little yard we have. I'm worried we won't be able to keep him there and that's a year without
my boy, assuming I don;t have to re home him. Poor dude.


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## candycorn

Sounds like he is in a really happy place though. 
I will say this...if you can't have him as long as a year, I would let those people keep him. In that long of a time they will become so attached. I was asked to babysit a minpin for a week or two...which became months. At 6 months I told the guy if he stayed after that...he stays forever. It was only fair. He had become my dog. He stayed years!


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## Shadowrunner

That's exactly why I'm worried. It wouldn't be fair to them and it wouldn't be fair to him.
If they did keep him, I would still pay for his food and get him licensed yearly.
They didn't want another dog, but they offered to take him anyway.
The lady has known me since I was a baby and she is obsessed with wolves like me so I know he would be loved.


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## Tikmio

Oh, sadness 

Maybe you can try to find some room for him at your house. Well, your renting... Can you not have a dog at the house? If you do have to have someone sit him for 1 year, I think I agree with candycorn... Sorry.


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## Shadowrunner

No I agree too.
It's only fair. To take him after a year would be selfish on my part.
I think he will be fine at the rental. But my grandmother and mother have other ideas.
He lived outside at our old house, he liked it and he couldn't eat the birds.
The thing is, we don't have any birds now. We plan to get some but it will be a while.
I have a feeling they will pressure me to get rid of him.
I also think that would leave me with a choice. Live at home like I always have with support
of my family in taking care of my disabled son, or move out on my own with nikel and rydag and hope
I can handle it myself. I think I can, it's just scary.


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## Laigaie

If you lived on your own, I'm sure your family would still help you care for your son. Maybe it's time.


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## Tikmio

Well, I don't think we understand your life quiet as much as we need to, to tell you to move out on your own... Look at this situation and ask yourself what would be better for you, your son, your life, your pets, and your future.


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## Shadowrunner

My family is really close knitted.
Everyone contributes to cleaning and finances so all the people involved are comfortable.
lol, It kind of reminds me of a colony set up really.

If I can find a place I can afford on my own I will.
But until then I just have to adapt.
Maybe I can convince them to let him in the house now.
Before , there were animals to protect.


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## Tikmio

That's true... Right now you have cats and a few mice right?


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## Shadowrunner

Yes, but he's scared of the cats and the mice will be in my room and he will not.
I talked with her. Apparently the insurance company will pay for boarding fees if need be and all I have to do
is visit him. That seems like the best solution considering. The kennel is all about 10 minuted from the house so I could walk up eveyday and play with him for a while. Poor baby. I miss him so much, it's too quiet without his howling.


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## Tikmio

Well, looks like you've got a plan! Just make shure he's getting the right care there


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## Shadowrunner

MOVING DAY~ *is excited*

We are packing all the clothes onto the trolley, to get out of this hotel! WOOT.
I hate this place, the staff are such snobs.
The mice I do have went from sleepy eyed to alert and buzzing around the cage.
They know somethings happening, the cuties.
Hopefully they take the move well. It's a little chilly out but I have blankets to cover the cages :3
I'll let you guys know how it goes.<3


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## candycorn

Horray! Goodluck and enjoy decorating!


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## Shadowrunner

Thanks! It went great!. 
I'm posting pictures of the mouse set up ans soon...as I have it set up.
The movers put all the furtinure in.
*sigh* I'm loving this place so far.
Too bad you guys are all so far away, we could have a teaparty


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## Tikmio

Teaparty would be great! Let me just head over, lol. I'm glad you like your new house


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## Shadowrunner

Lol I know right? Thanks!

This is beginning to look more like a journal, do you guys think I should ask to have it moved?

I have a pool now. Maybe I could host a pool party in the summer


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## Tikmio

Have it removed? No. Or moved to another place on the forum other than health? Maybe. Pool party? Make me your invisible friend, and I'm in!


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## Shadowrunner

Not removed, just moved somewhere more appropriate. It started out as a health concern because of the smoke, but the smoke is long gone.
It might be better suited to the general discussion forum at this point (at least since I still plan to update everyone.)

Only if I can also be invisible.


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## Tikmio

Yeah, lol. Everyone on the forum, turn invisible and come on down to shadows pool party! Yes, I think general discussion would be a good place


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## Shadowrunner

Thank You invisable mod! 

Oh lovely.
You have to love people.
So when the house was burning down, a man approached my grandmother who was still in shock.
He told her he was a code enforcement officer. He made her sign a contract by telling her she had to fix the house to code and she could get in legal trouble if she didn't agree to do it. So she signed it. This ....inappropriate string of words..Was actually a sleazeball who chases fire trucks and
takes advantage of people. So the contract was really a broad spectrum agreement to pay him to board up the house and fix it like new.
Last time I checked, impersonating a officer is really, really illegal. We read online some reviews about his work, all crap. We were warned against letting him anywhere NEAR the house. So we dropped the contract. Now he's trying to sue us and our current construction guy.
Lovely people, I swear. So we are meeting with a lawyer now, and let me include this bit of advice in case you ever loose your house to some freak accident or act of nature.....Do not. Sign anything. Until you have had at least 10 hours to cope with the shock. Period.


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## Laigaie

Since he impersonated a professional (and isn't), his case will get thrown out. Fear not. Probably, the judge already knows him.


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## Shadowrunner

I figured, but it still irritates me to no end. What of the people who actually follow through on the contract?
It's just unethical and mean in my opinion. No fears here, just rage. xD


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## Tikmio

Man! You've been through enough. What's wrong with him!


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## Shadowrunner

Who knows.
But we met with the lawyer. 
I don't think he realizes who he's dealing with. We aren't exactly passive and we tend to speak our minds.
I've gotten into some trouble doing that before :/

Anyway, we can counter sue him for harassment so let him try.


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## Tikmio

Rock on! LOL.


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