Rescued dogs ok, but rescued RATS???!! (Rats)

Member Name: dawnfrancis

Product:	Rats
Date:	19/10/01 (211 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: you'll never be loved like this by anyone or anything else

Disadvantages: they die young, can be upsetting to adopt an abused animal

'you keep RATS? RATS?? How COULD you???'

I smile at the person as they rant on about monsters who monopolize sewers, go for your throat, spread the plague and who are Generally Evil.

Their voice recedes into the distance as I recall intense bonds of friendship, loyalty and love, and devotion of a kind rarely found in us humans. I recall the ten rats I have shared my life with, nine of them rescues, most of them badly traumatized, and my heart sings with gratitude as I think of the happiness they have brought to my life.

Then instead of trying to argue with the person, I share some special stories with them. Usually they go away smiling and with a far different view of these supposedly filthy and mean animals.

This op is in part a tribute to my rodent friends, and in part an encouragement to others to consider adopting a rescue animal. After my first rat, Leroy, all my subsequent rats were rescued. Many were deeply traumatized by their experiences. the little stories below give an insight into why I love rats so much.

**WINSTON AND JAKE**

My very first rescues were two adult males who had been brought on a whim by a family who no longer wanted them. The rats had been terrorized - shouted at, and their cage banged upon, with the consequence that they cowered in the corner of their new cage for a long, long time.

Eventually Winston came round and was a playful happy little thing who adored winding me up on purpose. Jake, though, never fully recovered and always remained scarred by his experiences. Towards the end of his life he became paralyzed in his back legs and depended on me for a lot of things. He lost some of his reserve and cautiousness and we became friends. He died of a broken heart two weeks after Winston died. I learned two important things from these rats: Lesson 1: Rats form intense emotional attachment to their siblings and their humans. Lesson 2: sometimes you just
cannot undo someone else's pain.

**Pavlov**

my dear, darling Pav literally came knocking on my door. The RSPCA, who now knew I took in rescue rats, gave my number to a student who could no longer afford the vet bills for his elderly rat.

When I met Pav he was in a sorry state, due to neglect. Kept alone and in a small cage he had chewed off part of his own tail in boredom and distress. A naturally loving and sociable little boy, he had been driven half-mad by not being allowed out to play and explore (an essential for pet rats), and being denied company.

Pav was gravely ill with lung cancer when I got him. Once he discovered he was allowed to play in my bedroom he began to react with great distress whenever he was put back into his hated cage. He'd have these almighty breathing attacks and make himself ill. So I relented and Pav became free range. He never spent another night in that cage for the rest of his life, but roamed freely as he chose around my room. He never once chewed his tail again.

that tiny scrap taught me more about unconditional love than any other animal, or indeed, any human. He followed me around like a puppy. He wanted cuddles constantly. I'd wake up in the early hours to find him snuggled up in bed with me and we would listen for hours to the rain outside. He loved me with every fibre in his body. Even when he was too sick to even eat he'd come looking for me. He loved me, and I loved him.

We only had five months together but I treasure the memory and will forever. It certainly gave me strength for what came next.........

**Saul and Job**
Adopted from a wonderful rescue centre, Saul and Job were two of the most badly damaged animals I've ever met.

badly abused by previous owners they reacted in their own ways. Job was a petrified pitiful mite who literally collapsed if you approached him and just lay there whimpering and trembling. It
was a heartbreaking sight. However, he responded to even the tiniest bit of kindness and was soon quite settled.

Saul was another matter entirely. The abuse had quite literally sent him mad. He was aggressive, spiteful, downright mean and dangerous. He was totally uncontrollable. He took every opportunity to bite savagely, even deliberately seeking you out in order to bite. I hated him and the feeling was mutual. I just didn't think I could cope. friends suggested trying to rehome him, or even having him put to sleep.

things eventually came to a head when he bit me savagely causing a permanent scar. I sat down and decided to start all over again from square one. And so began months of training and 'therapy' and the like. He was so vicious that he would seek out any bit of visible skin on me and attack it. So I had to dress up in a thick coat, trousers and thick motorbike gloves to start with.

By the end of his life Saul was fiercely protective of me and loved me just as fiercely. I have treasured photographs of him snuggled up in my hands - no gloves, all bad memories far away. To the end of his life he never let anyone else touch him. It was enough for him just to have one person. He had learned to let go of his defensive aggression, and to love again. He died in my bed, snuggled up to me, ending his life in my arms, in the knowledge that not all people are bad, and that sometimes it is safe to love.

Saul left me a wonderful legacy. A friend wrote up our story and put it on a website. People from all over the world contacted me to say how moving they found the story. I made many friends. One, in particular, became a very precious friend. we started emailing and eventually we met up at her house all the way in California.

and all because of a tormented animal who learnt to live and love.

**Shirley**

After Saul and Job died I got Rufus and Angus, two wonderfully 'norma
l' rats who required little 'therapy'. They came from the RSPCA because their owners had divorced and were moving into flats where pets were not allowed.

When Rufus died I took him to the RSPCA to be cremated. I found a scruffy ugly old rat there with all the light gone from his eyes. Eventually I adopted him. The RSPCA said he was a girl so we called him Shirley but when we 'investigated' further it was very obvious he was a boy!

Shirley was a bag of bones. He did not know how to eat - I literally had to teach him. He reacted to food by stuffing as much as he could down his throat and then choking through lack of air. After a few weeks he learned that it was safe to leave his food, he didn't have to ram it all down at once. that gave me such a kick.

Shirley was neurotic, fearful, and would bite if you attempted to hold him. He could not trust me. It cut me up to see a little animal in such an unhappy state, but he just would not let me help him.

Six long months passed when one day he allowed himself to be cuddled. That day is engraved into my memory as one of the best of my life.

From then on Shirley constantly wanted to be by my side. He adored me to hold him and groom him, and if I sat on the floor he'd make a beeline for me and snuggle up close.

He became seriously ill and the vet diagnosed an enlarged heart. This caused him to have attacks of suffocation and panic which were dreadful to watch. yet if I got him out of his cage during these attacks he would calm down. It really does seem as if love can conquer all........

**Angel**

my current rat is called Angel though she is, like Elvis once said, a devil in disguise! She again has a history of abuse and has been passed from home to home, pillar to post. She attacks anyone in sight and in her previous homes killed some mice she was kept with. She's a bit loopy due to the bad treatment she r
eceived.

Very much like Saul, Angel is very protective of and loving to me. She sleeps in my bed. She climbs in my hair and grooms it, she 'kisses' me, follows me around, steals my food, and is generally the best little friend you could wish for.

**Life Lessons**

I have learned so much from my rats. I have learned what true unconditional love looks like, and about deep loyalty. I have learned that however bad one's past experiences are, it is never too late to turn your fortune around. I have learned something about the dignity in forgiving and trusting again. My patience and tolerance has doubled, tripled, through long months of trying to help abused animals find some quality of life. Because of this, I have become much more patient in my own life. I understand now that sometimes we have to fight hard, and wait for a long time, for the things which seem to come so easily to others.

Rats are 'almost human' in the sense that they are intelligent, seem to talk to you, and form deep emotional attachments. In terms of ability to love they are super-human. few people would be so steadfastly loyal and devoted as a rat. Believe me.

It's a cliche I know, but whatever you give rescue animals you get back tenfold. My rats have given meaning to my life. There are no words to describe watching a miserable scrap of life transform into a beautiful, happy, healthy animal because of your hard work. It is beyond description.

If you are considering rescuing an animal, I hope you have as much happiness as I have encountered. And don't forget to write an op about it. I will be reading :-)

This op is dedicated in love and gratitude to all my rats, for all they gave me.

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