1. Be easy to take care. We were very busy students, new parents and not completely responsible at this point in our lives
2. Be hide-able. While we had never been told "no", we had also never been told "yes" to having pets at the house we lived in. (It turned out to be OK once the landlord found out.)
3. Be CHEAP. We didn't have money for a pack of gum much less a pet!
So off we went to the pet store in hopes of finding that dream pet. I am not sure what we thought we could get that would meet all of those demands, but we were hopeful for sure.
We saw:
Dogs- didn't meet any of the above!
Cats- see above and I am not a cat lover, fortunately neither was Eric
Chinchilla- too much work, too big
Lizard- didn't fit the snuggly feeling we were going for. Plus needed lights, rocks, etc.
The store clerk took pity on our plight and offered to show us a rat. A what??? That's right, a rat. We conceded and looked. The little thing was white and blonde (cute), tiny(hide-able), a self entertainer (easy to care for), self cleaner (liking it more), and 4 DOLLARS! Um, excuse me? Did you say $4? Yep! Now a cage... the store worker happened to have a used one that she needed to get rid of so we got our new fur-ball a little food and for about $10 we were out of the door with our pet.
We named her Lucy. Eric and Lucy watched TV together while he feed her Cheerios. I snuggled her and taught Austin to play nicely with her. "Yucy" and Austin were buddies. When we graduated and decided to move, we flew to Louisiana while Walt and Chrisie drove our car. For fear our snuggle bug would eat her, Chrisie asked that we find another way to get Lucy to Louisiana besides in the back of the car. We knew if they did take her, they would have to take her in and out of the hotels they stayed in on the way and feed her, etc. I get it, not everyone likes rats and we would rather keep Grandma happy. We knew when we bought her that we probably wouldn't able to take her if we moved far away and that was alot to ask of someone anyway. We regretfully returned her to the store and they took her back right before we drove out of Provo.
Fast forward about 5 years. We had a little inside dog but the kids were asking for a cute little rodent of some kind. We looked at pet stores and after the hamster I was trying to love on bit me I said NO HAMSTERS! Eric started researching online for the best type of furry little "thing" we could find. I reminded him about Lucy. Yep, a rat it was then! So we looked at about 3 pets stores before we found a domestic rat. We found one that was a Fancy Rat, just like Lucy, and was white and blonde, just like Lucy. That rat was coming home with me! We also found a Dumbo Eared rat that was brown and white. So we got them out of the cage, made sure they were both female, (we like rats in small numbers!) and since rats like company, we took them both home. We paid about $21 for our new "Dumbo" and "Lucy". Plus we had to buy a cage this time.
These rats have been part of the family for about 3 years now. They have yet to bite anyone, well, anyone who didn't have peanut butter on the end of his or her finger. They get frequent baths, pushed in strollers, carried in purses, and made to do acrobatics. They go on field trips to preschool on "R" week and are the first thing kids want to see when they come to play. They watch TV, snuggle sick kids, eat crusts of bread, and come when you call them. We love them. Sadly rats only live about 4-5 years so they are aging for sure. We think Lucy has cancer and Dumbo is deaf. They are both losing hair and getting skinnier despite being fed well. But they remain cheerful and easy to please, so as long as they seem to not be suffering, they keep playing a role in the family. (I recently had a nightmare that I found Dumbo had passed away in the night. I am not looking forward to that day.)
Earlier this week Mya and Aliyah had a special dinner for them. On the menu for a rat you ask? Goldfish crackers, grapes and carrots.
Behold:
Posts
2 comments:
When I first read 'Rats for Dinner', I wasn't thinking that they were invited for dinner. So glad the story turned out differently than I expected! I remember Lucy - we thought you guys were crazy back then!
Thank you for the heads up on the chiggers. They are a new experience for us. Mike has been miserable, but hopefully he's turned the corner and will stop itching so much (and hopefully the rest of us will manage to avoid them entirely).
And your catch-up post is killing me. Are you guys accident prone or what? That pic with Eric's tooth missing is classic. And I died thinking about amputating your little one's finger! Oh my gosh. I about die if they even fall and get hurt.
You're darling. Can't wait to see pics of your new place!
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