For those of you who appreciate the spirit of Valentine's Day, I invite you to join me as I reminisce with some furry Valentine's of my own. Regular readers may recognize Blue (aka Blueberry) and Raz (aka Raspberry) when they were featured in December 2022. I was sadly unaware that their brother, Grape, would pass away unexpectedly only a few short months after that feature was published.
In December 2022, Woniya and her family decided to reopen their hearts to keeping rats and adopted five baby boys: AC/DC, Cappy, Sherlock, Watson, and Ernie. However, the story of their journey as rat owners started way before then.
Rattie Ratz Rescue, located in the greater Bay Area of Northern California, takes in hundreds of needy rats each year. The rescue's volunteers have learned that the task of matchmaker is an incredibly crucial role that affects the successful placement of a rescued rat into a loving home.
With every ending there is hope of a new beginning and a second chance. Today’s feature follows the story of Fern and Juniper. They were very much beloved by their previous owner, but sadly, the owner was chronically ill. With their condition worsening, they no longer felt that they could care for the girls as they deserved, so they reached out to Rattie Ratz, a rescue located in the Bay Area of Northern California who specializes in fostering and rehoming domestic pet rats.
2020 was a difficult year for many people around the world, but even during a pandemic there are animals that need saving. Rattie Ratz Rescue is incredibly grateful that during a time of great difficulty and sorrow the support for our work and our rats never ceased. We are now a year into the pandemic and Rattie Ratz was able to help many rat owners in need thanks to this unending support. Many pet owners had to move or took large financial cuts, so there were a lot of pets needing to be rehomed. Rat owners have fewer resources and for many of these people, Rattie Ratz Rescue was their last hope.
Rattie Ratz mission is to find loving forever homes for all the rats who come our way. Many of our volunteers (including myself!) enjoy our own personal ratties just like the folks who adopt from us. Since we are in the business of rescue, we often come across our future pets at unexpected times and in unexpected ways.
As a volunteer with Rattie Ratz Rescue I have come across my fair share of unique- looking rats: Russian blue, dumbo blaze, double rex albino, hairless, mink possum and even a tail-less rat! I had certainly heard of and even seen dwarf rats a few times in the past but had never had a chance to really interact with them.
With most of the world on lockdown, having only yourself for company can get old pretty fast. Thankfully, lots of people are finding creative ways to keep themselves busy. Personally, one of my favorite methods to pass the time is by enjoying the company of my pets, and I know I’m not alone in this. Many people are spending their extra time pampering their furry friends or opening their hearts and homes to one or two new family members. Emily had this same idea, and now has two rat brothers keeping her company.
Rattie Ratz mission is to find loving forever homes for all the rats who come our way. We reached out to Gradiva and Zehara to hear about how their new boys are doing now that they’ve had some time to settle in.
This month I wanted to share a bittersweet adoption story. Many people who have to give up their animals do so, not because they want to, but because they have no choice. I am incredibly thankful for organizations like Rattie Ratz Rescue, whose mission is to help pet rats in need by providing a safe space for families to surrender their rats when they can no longer care for them.
