I've been thinking (long)

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Melissa

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
3,688
Location
Savannah, GA
I thought I'd share this with those of you who are not able to access that "other" site that I posted this on:

Over the past years I have learned a lot about animals. I've had my hard times and good, my wins and losses. I got my first ratties from some new friends who had a couple of 2 yr old females. Their kids stopped playing with them and they were stuck in a cage in the basement with no attention. I decided to adopt them. I gave them a good home. They had a good size cage. I can't remember too much detail, but they were happy. I loved rats and decided I wanted some more. I got a cute little hoodie that I named honey because of her colouring... then a fat boy pew, and an all black boy. The boys and girls lived seperately... until...

Until the guy I was dating thought it would be fun to see what would happen if he put the females and males together. I was pretty upset finding this out.

We ended up with a bunch of babies. I wasn't informed at the time so I sold a bunch to the Super Pet. I have no idea what happened to them. They were weaned when I brought them in.

Times got bad, I had to kick the bf out and life was so crazy as a teen, I didn't have time for my pets. I was stuck with so much responsibility and I had no idea what I was doing. In the end I gave up a bunch of the ratties litter, the 5 adults, a guinea pig and rabbit that I let live together.

I was devastated. Devastated I had no idea what I was doing and let down these poor creatures. To this day I am still upset about what I did. I let down the animals I loved.

So we scroll on to many years later. I was ready. This time for real. I found this forum and started my research for 2 new ratties.

I got my 2 rats from a breeder 2 years ago. They are still good as new, but a little less hyper and they get bouts of sneezing more often. I do my best to take care of them.

And here we are to today. I have learned about pet stores, breeders (good and bad, or to some all are bad or good, depends on how you look at I guess, but that's your opinion).

I have rescued all of my pets after my 2 ratties. My chihuahua from a man whose excuse was no pets were allowed in his new apartment (why can't he just say she barks when he goes away and doesn't have time for her and just bread her for profit?!). Not only that, he wanted 500$ for her... so sad but I gave in to 400$. She was badly taken care of. Her nails were never clipped and the quick grew out and it makes it hard to trim her nails. She was never spayed and had a litter of pups (which he didn't admit but it is very obvious and the vet confirmed it), and her teeth were HORRIBLE. A bunch of baby teeth never fell out and she has bad tartar and gum disease still. But, she is the sweetest dog, ever with an amazing aura about her. She's 3 but everyone thinks she is a puppy (usually a min-pin or non-chi type). One of my guinea pigs was rescued from the shelter and the other from some lady who thought it would be fun to breed her pigs and had no idea what she was doing. My last rattie as many know comes from an irresponsible backyard breeder, pregnant. Her babies are jewels.

In the end, I have learned that there are so many pets out there that need help. My goal is to start a rescue. I will start small, with rats, then lead up to other small animals. I will get that far when housing permits. I'm going to start by sewing hammocks and other things for rat and small animal cages to sell. Profits will go to rescues and my own rescue efforts.

This morning my aunt told me on msn I needed to see a psychiatrist. Why? She thinks I'm out of control with all of these pets. One day I will make her see the difference my efforts will make.

Please rescue your next pet.
 
Don't harp on the past, we all have those moments where we cringe at the thought of how we kept our pets when we simply didn't know or just couldn't deal with it.

If you are ready and prepared, being a rescue is rewarding but challenging as well. But you know you will have all of us for support.
Maybe one day, your aunt will understand just how much animals make our lives better.
 
I agree, what's in the past is in the past. You've learned lessons and have only become stronger because of it.

Make sure you are ready before opening a shelter.

We all support you.
 
Good luck Melissa :) What might help is writing down a list of all supplies, cages, food, etc. you would need to house more rats. It's easy to get overwhelmed fast. With the list, you can break it down into money, and start saving for everything including vet bills, since there are rescues that will come into peoples lives in less than adequate conditions. Starting by selling hammocks and toys is a good start. One day I'd like to be able to rescue more, but until I have a steady job and my own place, I know my limits. :)
 
I agree, don't dwell on past regrets. We all have them. I certainly do, particularly when it comes to rats because I feel like I'm always learning from you guys.

I'm reluctant to call my current two rats "rescues" because they had a good home. The owner was just moving and had too much in her life (after meeting her two young boys I can see why!). So I adopted them. My cat is a rescue, found with her mother (single kitten) before her eyes were even open. My dog is from a breeder but there are many reasons for that, none of which are really relevant here. : )

It's an odd hour of the night so I forget my real point, haha.
 
Fosters, fosters, and more fosters. I think that is the main key to having a successful small rescue, especially if you have rats in the house of your own and don't have a proper quarantine facility.
Foster homes are the backbone of many successful small rescues. You need to find people who will be responsible for them, maybe longterm, and even better if they are prepared to take care of the daily expenses like food. That would leave you responsible for caging and medical bills.
I admire anyone who wants to run a rescue, but it is an extremely tough gig. Once people find you, it will be a flood.
Try speaking with your vet, and maybe some other vet offices that people can vouch for. See if they might have any clients that would maybe be prepared to foster. If someone had come in recently that lost a pet, and isn't prepared to have one long term again, those people might agree to foster for a rescue.
You can also try forums like this. Maybe rat owners wouldn't foster themselves, but might have family members, who know rats, that would foster.
 
Melissa,

I work off and on with a local rescue in the area. A friend of mine is the rat coordinator there, we are in the states of course but if you want her email address drop me a pm. She does A LOT A LOT of work with the rescue and can probably pass some good knowledge on to you.

Jen
 
mamarat2 said:
Melissa,

I work off and on with a local rescue in the area. A friend of mine is the rat coordinator there, we are in the states of course but if you want her email address drop me a pm. She does A LOT A LOT of work with the rescue and can probably pass some good knowledge on to you.

Jen
That's great thanks! I'll get back to you about it when I'm not ay work.
 
Melissa,
All you can do in this life is learn from your mistakes and then make things better. I can relate though, because I kept my first beloved rat Danzig by himself. I kick myself knowing now that it probably made him unhappy, but now I know and will always have more than one. My current rats are reaping the benefit of my experiences and so are yours.
 
Around here we don't have serious rat-rescues, but I've done a few on my own, just one little advice, be very careful you don't get in too deep, never take in more than you can handle (money / time) - I've been in too deep, and it's frustrating and hard when OH shouts and the little ones don't get the time they need. But otherwise, it's so good to help innocent creatures, and see how happy they get. My major fault is that once I get a rescue in, it never leaves, because I don't trust anyone after seeing all the bad things when I do rescues :?
 
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