Rats!

I just finished reading this article about the 1,000+ "pet" rats that were found in a house with a Petaluma man. Actually, there were more than 1000 of the rats found, but this was the amount that was euthanized today.

For those of you who don't know, I owned pet rats for several years. I got my first for my 13th birthday, and my last one passed away when I was 28. I only had one at a time, but I don't think I ever went for more than a year without one.

"One" is the operative word here. I never felt the need to have more than one-at-a-time. I certainly never felt the need to have hundreds or thousands. (for the record, I do think that guy is crazy - literally) Individually, these little guys were my companions. The last two (again, separately) were my roommates in San Francisco. Rats make fantastic pets - they are small, intelligent, and actually quite cuddly. The one big problem is that they tend to only have a lifespan of 2-3 years. For me, this meant instant heartache every couple of years. This is the main reason why I eventually switched to cats. (from rats, to cats - that's a natural progression, isn't it?) Actually, Dick is responsible for introducing me to the wonderful world of kitties.



Here's a picture of me with my last rat, Java. (named because I'm a geek, not because I'm a coffee drinker.) This was taken in 1996 in front of my first San Francisco apartment. Java often rode around on my shoulders. She even came to art school with me once or twice. Wow - that's such a stereotype - an art student with a pet rat. I wore black and Doc Martins, too :)