Save Dessi the Rat

Dessi the rat is in desperate need of a life saving surgery; a tail amputation. All animals are deserving of life- even rats.

Dessi had a rough start to life. At only 7 months old, he has already been through so much. He was born as a feeder rat at a rat mill, and was bought by a family to feed to their snake when he was just a kitten. The daughter of the man who bought him as snake food smuggled him to safety and brought him to her school to be a class pet. Dessi was very loved at the school, but unfortunately despite good intentions his class had no idea how to care for a rat properly. He was isolated, underfed, and kept in a tiny glass aquarium. When summer came Dessi went back home with the girl, where he lived in the same conditions for a while before making an escape. Dessi survived alone and loose in the house for almost three weeks before he was captured again. Unfortunately, when he came back he returned with an injury… Dessi suffers from what appears to be a degloved tail, though we will never really know what he went through to receive this injury. Upon his return the entire top of his tail was dead and necrotic. He was in a lot of pain, but the family believed he wasn’t deserving of any medical intervention because he is a rat, so they planned to abandon him in a field, a death sentence for a domestic rat. Thankfully, I knew the family, heard about the situation, and was able to step in. Dessi came to me injured, in pain, and massively underweight. On his first vet visit the vet was hopeful his tail would fall off on its own. The dead part did end up falling off, but it left an exposed bone which is quickly becoming infected despite antibiotics and efforts to keep it clean. I have already spent upwards of $300 on Dessi’s medical care up to this point, and I need help if I am going to be able to fund this necessary surgery. Dessi needs an amputation if he is going to survive.

All animals matter. Dessi is such an intelligent, empathetic, and inquisitive little guy. He still, despite all he’s been through, has so much trust in the world and in humans. I dream that one day Dessi will live in a big cage with other rats, and that he will get to live a great, full life and pass peacefully of old age. His story doesn’t need to end now.

Thank you <3