Mousetrap

Update of May 23, 2001: In the photo above, which was taken shortly after we got Doots, he has ears. Duh.

But what's odd is that as of today, a month later, Doots has no external ears whatsoever, just stumps. He has taken to cleaning himself so thoroughly and so often that he has completely rubbed off his own ears. No kidding.

Update of June 25, 2001: As of today Doots has finally stopped cleaning himself.

Three weeks ago I asked our vet about his perpetual, relentless, never-never-ending grooming, to the point where he now has dime-sized sores on both of his shoulders (the mouse, not the vet). He suggested we get a companion mouse, so we asked a friend who raises them for a male mouse, and we took delivery the next day. Two weeks later he gave birth to a litter of eight pups, so we returned all nine to her, which she promptly fed to her lizard, which is why she raises them. I've suggested she consider signing up for a class on mouse-sexing.

Anyway, the vet says it's cruel to let Doots continue to destroy himself, so today he euthanized him, kind of like Timothy McVeigh earlier this month.

G'bye, Doots.