R.I.P. Gary

Well, it happened already. One of Connor's mice died--Gary, the black one. We discovered his lifeless body in the cage today after school. We're not sure why he died, but think he had some type of failure to thrive issue. It used to be that he and Rocky were the big mice and Mousy was the "runt." Well, Mousy and Rocky are now little fatties (Connor feeds them every day and loves to give them sunflower seeds for snacks), but Gary wasn't growing--and in fact looked like he had lost weight. He used to love sunflower seeds, but the last time we gave the mice a bunch (Sunday night), he didn't touch them. Matt and I just figured he wasn't hungry. Anyhow, Matt had day training today (and therefore doesn't work his regular shift tonight), so when he got home, he and Connor went out into the woods and buried Gary. Matt even made a little wooden cross to put on the grave. Connor is upset, but he's handling it okay--as well as can be expected, I suppose. I'm just hoping the other two mice continue to thrive, as the normal life expectancy is 18 to 36 months.