That terrible, horrible nibbling sound...

Not even death itself could keep this animal lover from feeding the little critters he so loved:

A deputy investigating neighbors' latest complaint that a reclusive homeowner fed rats and didn't take out the garbage found a decomposing body in the home with rats feeding on it.

Health officials believe the body found Monday is that of the house's resident, Thomas H. Stone, 67, though the medical examiner's office hadn't confirmed his identity as of Thursday.

Is it possible for something to be both heartwarming and sickening at the same time? Maybe, but not in this case. That's just plain nasty.

"In the end, he wouldn't even take out the garbage," said Tom Ellis, a neighbor. "It looks like he never took down the Christmas decorations from when his mother died in 1999. It was all very Edgar Allan Poe-ish."

Ellis and other neighbors began complaining about rats to the county health department, sheriff's office and city council members about five years ago.

"I wanted to get him help," Ellis said, "and I wanted the rats to go away."

Officials visited the house repeatedly and told Stone to stop feeding the rats, clean up his property and hire a pest control company, said Hilary Karasz, a spokeswoman for Public Health _ Seattle & King County.

Somehow, I don't think any of that sunk in.

They also sent him a bunch of letters, fined him, and got a lien on his house, but he never responded to any of those measures. And now, I think we all know why.