MOURNING mechanics held a funeral for a wild mouse they’d befriended — and even made him a special coffin.
The tame rodent, who they called Dave, was a regular visitor to Gunn’s Garage in Appin, Argyll, where he would join workers for lunch.
Staff were so gutted when he finally died after four years of companionship that they buried him outside their lock-up with a brake disc for a gravestone.
It said: “Dave the mouse. RIP.”
Grieving garage employee Michael Cameron, 33, explained: “Dave was a great wee fella, really tame and very domesticated.
“He loved ginger nuts. You would crumble one up and when you came back in you’d swear someone had run the hoover over it.
“The boss, Duncan, would come in over Christmas and at weekends to make sure he had a biscuit.”
There was dismay after the cheese-loving creature squeaked his last and his lifeless corpse was found.
Michael said: “We tried a bit of CPR but he was gone.
“Dave wasn’t a pet, he was much more than that. He was part of the family and we were all gutted.”
The mechanics decided to give their furry pal a send-off. Michael continued: “We wrapped him up in paper.
“We had a wee coffin made and attached some strings. We took an end each and lowered him into a hole our apprentice Ewan had dug round the back. Danny Boy was played and there were some solemn words and tears.
“We built a wee rockery and used an old brake disc as a gravestone.”
Michael revealed a local church has offered to hold a service in Dave’s memory.
He said: “The minister stays next door and he said he’d do a wee ceremony.”
