Mary Ann
I have often shared stories of my childhood or a Timmy story with you. I have not shared anything that my own children’s childhoods. I would like to tell such a story now.
When we lived in California, the library at the school that my children attended had a lending “library” of small animals like guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, or mice and rats that you could check out for the weekend. It was a wonderful idea for children to enjoy a pet, learn a little about responsibility, and the family didn’t have to buy an animal with a cage, food, bedding, and the like.
So, one Friday, my daughter brought home a mother rat with her 13 babies. They were all white with brown spots. It was only a two-day visit so what could possibility go wrong? It was a lively group and our whole family got a chance to play with the little ones. Mother Rat was attentive, and she was quite patient with her babies being manhandled by children.
Rats are very intelligent and can be quite loving. It is the word Rat that is a turn off. If you watch All Creatures Great and Small on PBS, Siegfried Farnon, the older vet, has a pet rat. Rats are interesting, and Siegfried thoroughly enjoys his little friend. He kept it next to his desk.
I digress. Saturday came without incident. Then I walked into my daughter’s bedroom to find an empty rat cage. OMG! There are 14 rats loose in my house. Where were they? Well, next to the dresser where the cage was kept was my daughter’s big wooden doll house. Something told me to look inside, and I did. It may have been seeing a tail coming out of one of the windows. There were all the babies with their mother supervising. The babies were in the bathtub, on the little beds, running up and down the stairs, sitting on the couch and chairs. At first, it was shocking but after watching them enjoying themselves, it was rather charming. The doll house furniture was just their size. The baby rats were ready to move it!
I then became a rat wrangler! I picked up each of the babies by their tails and put them back into their container. Mother Rat joined them and was happy to be home She did not want to leave her babies. When they were all back together in their home, they piled on top of one another like a football scrum for a nap. Mother Rat took a nap as well always keeping watch on her mischievous brood. I am sure she was exhausted. They had had quite an adventure.
The rats returned to school Monday morning. I must admit I was not sad to see them go. However, the library set up adoptions for the babies, and guess what, we adopted one. Pooky was a very good pet and was loved by the whole family. I can assure you that Pooky’s cage had a very secure lid. The only downside of a pet rat is that they chew. You had to be careful not to put clothing anywhere near her cage. Otherwise, a sleeve of a sweater soon became a rat’s nest of colorful yarn. We learned this the hard way.
I was thankful for my children to have the experience of caring and loving one of God’s creatures. Over the years we had many little furry friends. Parents everywhere need to thank all the little mice, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, and yes, rats for being loving pets to their children! They are always there for a snuggle. It teaches children responsibility, how life cycles work, and caring for a fellow creature. In the end a mouse (rat) in the house can be a really good thing!
Silver Sage Sisters 