Bruce was a nice rat, while he was boss of the cage, he would turn into a wimp once he was taken outside.. I rescued him and his two cage-mates from a home that badly neglected them, it was also impossible to determine when he was born, so I don't have a birth year for him, I had him for two years, so he could have been about a year or little less when I got him.

It was at the end of July 2008 when I got Bruce and his 2 cage-bros, they where all under-weight, full of rat-lice, and they where half the size that male rats should be. The lice was treated at the vet, and after some good-eatin' he gained weight and was plump as a buck.
Bruce was a quiet rat, until he was taken out of his cage, he would squeak to get back in, it was easy to tell that he wasn't socialised very much with his previous owner, but once he came into my care, he improved a bit, but still prefered to be in the cage where he knew that he was in control. Last summer I got another rat named Vinny, he and Chuck got along with him quite well, but Bruce would sometimes submit, making Vinny the new boss of the cage, however after Chuck's death, both Bruce and Vinny would sometimes trade places of boss, but Vinny was always the one to have Bruce pinned down.
On May 7th (exactly 3 months of Chuck's death) my husband was about to clean the cage when he told me that Bruce passed on. I checked the cage and Bruce was laying down, his passing was very recent, and was only beginning to go stiff, he was perfectly fine the past night, but I guess age caught up with him.
Bruce is now with his original cage mates Jackie and Chuck, when I took them all in, they where in poor health, they got better and lived great lives. I had a fun time with you guys, and I hope you feel the same about me. Rest in Peace.