Oh, rats!

Riiight -
like I would use 'rats' as an exclamation.

FUCKBEANS! is more my style.

However, that's not what I was talking about.


I get all sorts of stories about the animals that come to us.

"I don't have time..."
"I didn't know it was so hard..."
"the kids just aren't interested"

And most of the time, I just nod and look wise. Unless it's a phone conversation, and then I'm rolling my eyes like I'm trying to get seven the hard way.

Periodically, I get people with legitimate constraints. An illness diagnosis, unknown allergies, a family member who has passed on and left an animal behind.

But my favorite has to be the Peace Corps volunteer!

She had a pair of rats.

Yes, rats. If you've ever kept one as a pet, you know how wonderful they can be. If you haven't, you're probably imagining something gross and creepy, and you're missing out!

This is Lira

This is Luna.

Lira and Luna came to us after I found out a friend of mine had actually been called to the Peace Corps. Normally, I'd be pissed at someone for committing to animals knowing that they had a limited time before they wouldn't be able to take care of them. She knew she was eventually going to be accepted, but she didn't realize how quickly it would be. Normally, there is a long application period and then a lot of waiting and then training. This process takes about a year, usually. Since rats generally live less than five years (more like 1-2 years),  and hers were already a year old, she figured she'd be fine.

However, Liz was awesome and the area she wanted to work in needed her, so she got fast-tracked. 

This was one of the few times I've had a person sob at a surrender. She was distraught. Can I also tell you that she waited until the night before she was leaving for a third world country to bring them to us? She wanted to spend as much time as possible with them before she left. 

It was sweet.

I had pet rats growing up, so I knew what I was getting into. These girls, however, were the coolest animals I've had the pleasure of keeping. Both of them would jump for treats and Lira liked to groom people's hair. Each one of them would come out when you called their name, and both would cuddle in a pocket and stay for hours. (I always assumed it was because of their advanced age, but maybe they just liked people that much.)

OldMan is always interested in the animals, but only as far as what they look like or if they make a mess. He really liked the girls, though.

They came to us in February, and unfortunately, passed on later in the summer. We lost Luna first, and Lira went within the week following. We were all a little distraught, so we adopted another pair from a rescue group about fifty miles away. The ones we got were not nearly as personable or sweet, but we kept them and spoiled them like we do with everyone that comes through. When the second pair departed, we sold off all of our supplies and haven't taken in any others.

Sometimes, it's better just to keep the memory in your heart than to keep it alive in another way.

Alright, that's all the sentimental shit you're getting out of me today. I have laundry to do.