Brandywine Gaston (RIP)
	Origin:	Brandywine Stud
	Born:	2 July 2014
	Died:	29 October 2015: Aged 16 months
	Cause of death:	Probably heart related (passed away at home completely out of the blue)
	Colour/variety:	Russian blue Essex
	Known genetics:	rb/rb M/m Hro/H
	Health:	No health issues
	Weight:	613g
	Merits:	NERS Agility champion
	Temperament:	Exciteable explorer
	Nicknames:	Gast

Losing Gaston was an utter shock. I had taken my bucks to my friend's the week before to show a prospective buyer what adult bucks were like, and I was doing an intro at the time so figured the drive would do them good. However, they overheated on the way there because it was an unseasonably warm day and I was an absolute tool who didn't check that there was proper airflow through the carrier. They all had swollen salivary glands and were soaking in saliva when we arrived, but quickly cooled down and dried off and tucked into dry mix, so other than the older bucks looking tired I was not worried about the longer term implications at that point (I obviously felt, and still feel, very guilty about it though and have definitely learnt something from it) and everyone was entirely happy and back to normal that evening. Then a week later I found Gaston passed away in the cage, out of the blue. RIP my lovely boy at far too young an age, I hope you're exploring every inch of heaven and chewing the bars of the pearly gates now!

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Gaston is a really nice solid buck with very appealing soft colour and Essex markings. He loves exploring and zipping around the rat room like a little exciteable train, frequently checking in with me. He's the alpha of the group and seems to handle it well, although he doesn't have quite the same poise and confidence as Skylake. Gaston has a sort of variegated Essex belly rather than the to-standard smooth graduation, so I've only shown him a couple of times (being alpha he also doesn't tend to like the confines of the show tank very much).

Gaston and his brother Skylake came here as babies from the lovely Annette at Brandywine Stud as potential future stud bucks, although as I didn't keep any bucks at the time, we arranged for the boys to move in with my close friend Jemma's wonderful buck group until the time was right for her to switch to keeping girls. They fitted right in with her, and at the age of 7 months they came to stay here permanently together with the three little Maload boys.

(click thumbnails for larger versions)