I walked into a pet supply store one morning, to return a feeder bin that didn't fit my guinea pig cage. As I was finishing the transaction with the sales person, Patrick asked about the animals in a ten gallon tank on the floor. I said they were rats, then looked at the sales lady and said that I didn't remember them keeping their rats on the floor before. She informed me that someone had just brought them in and left them there. What really shocked me, was when she said that people do it all the time. That was sad.
I asked what they would do with these two boys, and she told me I could take them. So, Fred and Rizzo, named so by Philip, came to live out the rest of their lives in our home. Yulara had been gone only ten days, and rescuing these fellows made me feel good. They were very friendly and even met some "rat people" friends of ours from Sweden. But, in August, Rizzo showed signs of distress. Having owned many rats, we knew he didn't have long in this world, and we had him euthanized.
Fred likes to roam, and took a whole day's "holiday" in July. He managed to make it up the stairs and into an alcove near the cat's box and feeding area. How he survived it will forever be a mystery. I sure wish he could talk.
