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Born sometime between the last half of 2006 and early 2007
Black hooded dumbos
Wendy and Lisa came to us as part of a large rescue of 50 rats in the Vancouver, BC area. Not a lot is known about their past other than that they were not being humanely kept by a "breeder" who likely bred for the pet shop and reptile food trade. A wonderful rescue group, Small Animal Rescue BC, took the homing and fostering of these rats on and rose beautifully to the challenge. They had less than a week to get all the rats out of the unprepared humane society shelter they'd been taken to after seizure from their owner or the rats would have been euthanized. Not only were they faced with finding foster and permanent homes for 50 rats, they were also certain that many of the females in the group were likely pregnant from being indiscriminately housed with males. Many wonderful rat loving individuals contributed to a spay fund and all the adult females were taken to two vet clinics for spay in short order, thus preventing the need to find homes for at least another 50 rats. Other fantastic volunteers housed the rats while they were in quarantine awaiting their permanent homes or longer term foster placements. Still more organized transport trains to get the rats to their new homes, many of them south of the border in Washington and Oregon. Rat people are some of the best people I know and this mass rescue is a testament to how caring and giving rat lovers can be when the chips are down and rats are in danger.
As to the girls themselves, they're interesting little creatures. Wendy has bitten at least two people so far, but I've managed to avoid her wrath by watching her for cues to her feelings. She definitely telegraphs her punches, so I know when to give her her space by looking at her body language. Wendy is very interested in people and likes to be gently talked to. She would prefer to stay in the cage and not to have you pet her or pick her up. She will take treats from my hand and is generally a polite rat when you play by her rules.
Lisa is less reactive by biting than Wendy, but she's definitely a boundary tester. She will gently pinch or nip your skin with her teeth to see what your reaction will be. She's very territorial and loves to rub her paws and her scent all over the cage so you're sure it belongs to her. Lisa is also no fan of being picked up or petted a great deal, but she allows more of that than Wendy does. She's a big fan of treats, especially ones she can gnaw on and hoard like a little dragon. I'm just assuming these girls are siblings, though it's entirely possible they're related in different ways or not at all.
I am hoping they'll mellow and come to trust me more the longer they're here. I'm also hopeful that housing them with other rats who love and trust people will accelerate the taming process. I promised Wendy and Lisa that nobody would ever neglect them again, that they'd always have good food and water and plenty of room to stretch out and roam, that they'd never have to have another litter again and that I'd never let anyone hurt them. I hope that in time they both come to believe me and that the rest of their story is as happy as the first part was sad.
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Lisa's pretty face |
Lisa's pretty face in extreme close-up |
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Lovely Lisa showing her "saddle" back spot |
Dear Wendy's sweet face |
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Wendy giving me the eye, as usual |
Wonderful Wendy's lovely back stripe |
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Clowning at the cage door |
Igloo party! |