Of Rats and Jen

We still miss Sable, all of us. Lola spent a lot of the week depressed and refusing to come out of the cage much. She just curled up on one of Sable’s favorite nap spots and looked forlorn.

I had trouble dealing with the loss. Couldn’t focus, haven’t crafted all week.

All your kind words and good wishes helped immensely. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! You are good and true friends.

We had hoped to have the next generation of rats in place before Lola had to be alone, but we also hoped we had more time with Sable. Her passing caught us by surprise.

Much of the week was spent on escalating the search for new companions for Lola, me, and Gryphon. I scoured Craig’s List several times a day. I sent e-mail to the rattery we were on a waiting list with (and heard nothing back from them). I contacted one rat rescue mid-week, and another one on Friday.

The Friday contact was golden! I heard from them by the end of the day, we were approved for adoption almost immediately, and….well, just click through to see the results!

Presenting….Yuri and Leonardo!

That’s Leonardo on the left. He’s a Black Hooded Rex, DOB 10/28/07. On the right, using his cousin/half brother’s butt for a pillow and his face for a foot warmer is Yuri, a Black Berkshire Rex born 10/23/07. (Rex means curly haired.)

But wait a minute, you’re wondering. They’re boys. And last we looked, Lola is a girl. Isn’t there a problem here?

Nope, actually. Yuri and Leonardo come already neutered. They’ve been shy because of being moved around among foster homes a lot, and were both the odd boys leftover in their respective litters, so the rescue organization sponsored the cost of neutering to make them a more attractive adoption.

They just had the surgery on Tuesday, so we have to keep them separated from Lola until three weeks after to be sure all their sperm have died. But because they’re neutered, we can then safely keep all three together without fears of more babies than we want.

We are all so excited here! Lola has been intensely interested ever since we got the temporary cage set up next to her own. Who are these handsome strangers? Why can’t I play with them yet? Let me at them! They smell good!

Yuri and Leonardo, as you can see, are exhausted from being driven all over New England today – they started out in Maine at the rat rescue, traveled to Portsmouth and Salem, NH, then down to Lowell, where Gryphon and I picked them up in the train station parking lot. (They traveled by car, the station is commonly used for delivering adoptees to adopters.)

So it’s no longer just “The Rattie Sisters” – it’s the Rats! Yuri and Leonardo have brought the other gender into the house. Gryphon is delighted – for a change, the males outnumber the females!

Mainely Rat Rescue

I can’t say enough good things about the folks at Mainely Rat Rescue! They responded to my query swiftly and professionally, and worked quickly to recommend the right rats for our household. I hadn’t considered male rats, but because these were neutered, they became a valid option. Kim at Mainely Rat Rescue saw my description of how we cared for our rats on the adoption application, and felt we’d be a good fit for a pair of boys she described as a little skittish.

Mainely Rat Rescue has many, many more rats to adopt out to good homes. Don’t think you have to be local to them – I’m all the way in Wilton, NH, and we adopted. They have an extensive network of foster homes all over several states, including Maine, NH, and Massachusetts, and a group of volunteers who can relay rats from one place to another – even New York City.