SPG (Special Patrol Group named after the hamster in The Young Ones) is my fabulous white rat. About a month ago Mr Pigalina came to me with a sad face and said "I don't want to upset you but SPG has a lump." The poor girl certainly did have a lump, in her front left armpit, if we left it too long she would hardly be able to put her leg down!

Most people would say it was time to get rid of SPG, that with such a lump you may as well put her to sleep. Actually, most people think that I should not have rats at all. "Uuuurrrgh their tails are all yucky" (They are actually soft and hairy), "They smell" (Only if you don't clean them out) etc etc. We took SPG to the vet and they said that we could have her operated on. After some deliberation we decided that SPG deserved to have her lump removed. What did it matter that she probably only has one year of life left and that the operation would cost 8 times as much as she cost to buy? She is my furry friend and therefore I couldn't bear to see her go just yet.

After work on the day of her operation I headed to the vets office expecting to pick up a box containing a groggy little rat with a gruesome wound on her side. Imagine my suprise, and delight when I opened the box and saw not just a perky and happy SPG but one wearing a very cute little bandage:

How could anyone not like that little furry creature? SPG is thriving and I am glad she had her wee op as it means she can still walk! Hopefully she won't get anymore lumps. Yes I am quite the soft touch when it comes to my animals. Pigalina love SPG.