|
|
Post by adoptaratcanada on Jul 1, 2007 22:25:05 GMT -4
|
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 1, 2007 22:29:04 GMT -4
Don't just post a link, please.
>> They have beady eyes and teeth like razor blades, and their ancestors dwelt in sewers.
What's not to love about rats?
"They're so much fun!" gushes Julie Cassara of Rocklin.
Not to mention terribly misunderstood and improperly maligned, says Cassara, who runs a rat rescue and adoption agency called RattieRatz.
Cassara and her fellow rat enthusiasts are determined to turn the tide of public opinion about rats, which they describe as clean, smart, talented and oh so cute.
Perhaps the new Pixar movie, "Ratatouille," featuring fetching cartoon rats, will help, says Debbie Ducommun of Chico, who identifies herself as "Debbie the Rat Lady" when she answers her phone.
Ducommun, who has been singing the praises of the rodents in Northern California for 15 years, served as a paid consultant to Pixar on the movie, which is scheduled for wide release later this month. She instructed the filmmakers on rat habits and characteristics, including the fact that most rats have pink noses.
"It's one of my pet peeves when rats in cartoons and plush animals have black noses," she sniffs.
Ducommun, who as founder of the Rat Assistance and Teaching Society has been featured on various variety shows, including Jay Leno's, gets a credit in "Ratatouille," she says. "I'm super excited!"
But no movie can do justice to the joys of owning a pet rat, Ducommun insists. Only a close personal encounter will do, and that opportunity is available Saturday at the Sacramento SPCA, thanks to Ducommun and other rat fanatics.
The Rat-stravaganza, featuring rat displays, rat facts, rat discussions and even rat tricks, will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It's all in the name of dispelling myths about the creatures. And the myths are many, insist Ducommun and Cassara.
First, rats are not dirty, according to the rat advocates.
"They are the most fastidious cleaners," says Cassara, noting that the rodents groom themselves like cats. "They can't stand human germs."
Second, rats are not mean. On the contrary, Cassara and Ducommun say, socialized rats are gentle as lambs.
Both women have lots of pet rats. Each rodent has a name and a distinct personality, they say. Cassara allows her rats to rest on her shoulder, and they occasionally accompany her on trips to Home Depot. "They are very interactive, and they are wonderful pets," she says.
Finally, rats are not dumb.
"I believe that the average rat is as smart as the average dog, and lots of them are smarter," says Ducommun, who has trained rats to respond to come when they are called, walk tightropes and shoot baskets, among other things.
Cassara herself was a rat-hater until a few years ago, when she happened upon some of the creatures at an animal shelter.
"I thought they were disgusting, vile, filthy creatures," she says. "I was humbly educated by a volunteer. I did some research of my own, and I found out everything that I thought I knew about rats was false."
Fourteen of the creatures now inhabit her home.
The rats that she and others keep as pets, formally known as rattus norvegicus, are not to be confused with wild rats, or rattus rattus, Ducommun instructs. Even Ducommun would shun a wild rat, also known as a roof rat or ship rat, as a pet.
Domesticated rats come in a wide range of markings, colors and varieties. "There are rats with big ears that we call Dumbos, curly haired rats, Siamese rats," even tailless rats, she says. Unfortunately for members of their fan clubs, most rats have a maximum life span of only two to three years.
"It's not easy when they pass," Cassara confides. "But the joy that they bring you makes it all worthwhile.
"I guess only a rat lover would understand." <<
|
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 1, 2007 22:37:36 GMT -4
If other Disney movies are an example, this will encourage stupid thoughtless people to get rats as pets as a whim, and then abandon them - just as they did with the dalmatians, etc.
There are many Ratatouille rat dolls and figurines and plush toys in stores right now. I should get one as a souvenir.
|
|
|
|
Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 1, 2007 23:48:43 GMT -4
Re: two deleted posts above. . . I do not want that on the board. See the PM.
>> Please provide a link to the article and if need be a brief extract of that story. <<
OK, do that.
|
|
