Happy 3rd Birthday to Famous the Rat!

Plot: Upon realisation that it is Famous' birthday, Nana the Border Collie and her sidekick Kaiser the Bengal cat team up to make the day memorable for their rat friend.

I decided it has been too long since I last made a classic "Nana & Kaiser" film, for those of you who have been fans of the duo over the years, since my menagerie has grown to be quite large. So for those anticipating, here is another short film with the spotlight focused on Nana and Kai... and let's certainly not forget the birthday girl, Famous! I hope you all enjoy. :)

Special thanks to the store managers for allowing me to film in their stores, and to a wonderful employee who was kind enough to help film one of the shots.


This is an incredibly special day for a rat that I was not even expecting to live to two years of age... much less three! Until now, I have kept relatively quiet about the battles and struggles of keeping Famous alive over the years, since it has been one of the more difficult experiences for me to recount. Famous was born with numerous birth defects (e.g., complete blindness; significant, unexplainable anomalies in her tail; minor spinal deformity, etc.), immunosuppression, Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD), and various other health issues throughout her life which snowballed as a result of her immunosuppression. Last fall she was diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy which is highly advanced now, and recently heart issues and renal disease as well. For those who may be asking, she does have a mammary tumour located in her right axilla that cannot be removed, although medication has slowed the growth impressively well (she has had the tumour for four months now). I had a veterinarian working with Famous at the age of eight weeks and after several visits she was diagnosed with immunosuppression. She was also experiencing severe respiratory issues early on which later progressed to CRD. She was put on many medications for her respiratory and immune systems, just to keep her alive, and even still we (her vet and I) were not expecting a long lifespan for her. Famous' fervent will to live and the intense fight in her instilled optimism and thus we hoped, with diligent medical care, she would live a happy 1218 months max. Since she was eight weeks old, Famous has been on daily medications (some every 12 hours, some every 24 hours) right up to this point in time. I honestly thought for certain Famous would be the first rat I would lose. Yet, I was proven wrong, as she is the last living rat in her generation. She is an incredibly brave fighter and a trouper, and I swear she is the happiest rat alive on this Earth... which of course has made everything I have put into her more than worth it. It has been a bumpy road living with this special needs rat. I have had to change my lifestyle, I have had to pass up opportunities because it would mean missing her next dose of medication (which would leave her in critical condition in a matter of hours, and a long recovery period). There have been many mornings when I would awaken wondering if she survived the night. I have lost sleep spending the nights comforting her. I have driven her to the veterinary clinic in the middle of the night. And I have held her in my arms fighting back tears, wondering what more I could do for her. It has been immensely challenging both physically and emotionally pouring everything I have into this rat. But I wouldn't trade the past three years for anything in the world.

I will be making a video in the future telling Famous' full story. She is my biggest inspiration and my heart rat, and I am truly blessed to have been the one who was entrusted with her care. Happy 3rd Birthday, my precious girl. You are the bravest and strongest rat alive.


Music by Kevin MacLeod and Josh Woodward:
http://incompetech.com/m/c/royaltyfree/
http://www.joshwoodward.com


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