Such a precious tiny little life...
Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 10:26AM
Still fast asleep in his night basket, this photo which was
taken yesterday morning, shows how tiny Dinky really was.
Poor little Dinky died on my lap, peacefully in his sleep, at 10.30pm last night.
The day before yesterday, he suddenly took a turn for the worse in the afternoon, but then, after some more milk, he seemed to perk up a bit and was fine for the evening. At 2am, he had his biggest feed so far, and was looking fine. In the morning, I fed him again at 6am, 7am and 8am, and he was taking food but not wanting to wake up, even falling asleep in the time it took me to re-fill the syringe with milk. The whole day he just continued sleeping, only grudgingly waking up to take a syringe or two of milk every 30-45 minutes or so. By midday, he was starting to visibly lose condition in front of our very eyes. I rushed off to Mtito Andei (the town about an hour's drive away, where only very basic supplies are available) to try to see if I could find a different type of milk for him, as it seemed the milk we were giving him (despite having successfully raised our neighbour's dikdik) was just not giving Dinky what he needed. I rang a wildlife vet in Nairobi who suggested trying human baby formula so I raced around the few shops in Mtito Andei and eventually found a single tin. I rushed back home as fast as I could, where Ian had been keeping Dinky alive with a couple of syringe-fulls of the original milk. But, even with the new milk, as the afternoon and evening wore on, we just watched the poor little mite waste away in front of us. I just held him on my lap, until - devastatingly - he died there at 10.30pm, just a shadow of the little animal he had been in the morning.
I feel so distraught – he was such a dear little soul. He was so very, very tiny and so helpless, and although I did my very best, it was not enough. I think he was just too young and too small, and perhaps he was already ill when he came to us but we did not know it. I feel so awful, as if I let him down when he was relying on me. Even though he was only with us for two days, I feel utterly bereft – how ludicrously attached one can get to these little creatures in such a short space of time, even when you know the odds are stacked against you when these wild babies are so very young.
These are our last photos of Dinky, taken yesterday morning. By evening, despite my best efforts, he had lost probably half his body weight...but this is how I will remember him, as the sweetest little ball of fluff you can possibly imagine...
Rest in peace, dear little Dinks...I'm so sorry I could not do more to help you. Your tiny little life leaves a great big hole in our hearts here at Kulafumbi...
Reader Comments (9)
I'm deeply sorry for your loss, I know what you are going through.
Met for a day, remembered for life !
Rest in peace little dinky, may your soul be in a safe place.
I'm so sorry about losing that dear little creature. It's amazing how they capture our hearts. When I read your posts about him, I was very worried about how young he was. You had an almost impossible task. I'm sure he enriched your lives and you will always remember him.
Thank you both - it is indeed devastating to lose a little creature that is in your care. I think, as you say Suzanne, he was just too young, and probably needed the antibodies from his mother's breast milk to keep him strong. We tried our best to look after him, but we just could not replace his mother. He will not be easily forgotten...
Poor little Dinky. How sad. At least you tried though - that's the main thing.
How sad - you write for the first time in ages as you are clearly so excited to share him, then he's gone. Well, he obviously felt warm and secure and loved. We have all been touched by this little guy. He may have only been around for a little while, but he mattered. Well done you for caring so much.
I've been touched by this article. Respect and love all animals!
I'm so sorry. We love animals and yet they unknowingly break our hearts. You gave him the best possible chance, and warmth, and love. That's no small thing.
What a heartbreaking experience. I am so sorry. Perhaps some small comfort in the fact that this tiny animal's last hours were spent in safety with you, and not alone and afraid. You did everything possible for him.
Just accidentally stumbled on your blog....sorry about Dinky.