What I love about the rat community.

[KayRatz]

The community of rat lovers is different from any other in that they all care about each other and each other's rats. They aren't shy about helping someone and jump at the opportunity to rescue a rat in need. People in the rat community are firm but kind, and most of them know what they're talking about... it's one of the most loving online communities out there, and I wish more people could be like the rat owners I've met.

Yeahhh. Just had to get that out there, as a sort of thanks to everyone for what I've learned, etc.

 

[jorats]

I totally agree!
BTW, LOVE your avatar!

 

[anita1216]

Its wonderful to know that people completely understand, that they get it!!!!

 

[lj]

And the things those rat owners do for other rats.....Like have a train across the country. I bet nobody would do that for other animals...

 

[Jennw]

Exactly, lj.

The number of people who have said "they did WHAT?" when I mentioned the rat train gets higher every time I tell the story.

I wish I had known about this forum a long time ago. Y'all are supportive, caring, and fun!

 

[KayRatz]

Yes... dog people are just a**holes half the time! LOL

 

[Pauley]

Yes... dog people are just a**holes half the time! LOL

:laugh4: That totally caught me off guard! :laugh4:

People with their high-pedigree purebreds especially

I gotta agree about the rat community. Especially this site. You can get help or answers pretty quickly around here!

 

[lj]

I'm a dog person too....But not one of those high pedigree kinds. I'm the mutt type from a rescue type of dog person.

 

[Jennw]

Yes... dog people are just a**holes half the time! LOL

:laugh4: That totally caught me off guard! :laugh4:

People with their high-pedigree purebreds especially

...snip

hey, I'm a dog person! (Along with being a cat person and a rat person, etc.) And I own a high-pedigree purebred. She's a former (winning) showdog.

However, this girl was days away from being euthanized, because she could no longer breed or show, and the owner got younger, prettier dogs, and didn't want this one anymore. So we took her. She's now a certified therapy dog, and one of the best little pups I've ever met. :heart:

Please don't lump me in with everyone else!

 

[Pauley]

Nobody was lumping you in....it said half the time. Plus the backstory you just told about your doggie is the kind I like.

I just don't see the point in spending a thousand dollars just for a purebred when some sweet doggie at the shelter will love you just as much if not more. Yours is a story of caring and of rescuing a dog thet was uncared for because they were "done with it".

Dogs should be companions, not status symbols.

I have had as many as four rescue dogs at the same time, that probably makes me a dog person too.

 

[Godmother]

Yes, this is a very caring on-line community. Everybody seems to love all animals (except maybe people :lol: ).

 

[KayRatz]

My dogs are all mixed breed. I have one who was rescued from a situation where she was living in filth with a head-injured friend of mine, who we've since helped get into a better situation, [that friend is actually my biological mother, but I was adopted by my grandparents when I was born and call them Mom and Dad as a result] and then my mom didn't spay this puppy so she had several litters, and we kept a puppy. Both him and the rescued dog are now altered though, don't worry! But I've been a dog person for my entire life, to my very first memory... so I definitely know what many dog people are like! Snobby, mean, I'm-too-good-for-you...

 

[Vanessa]

I have noticed that the rat community is made up primarily of two categories of rat owners.
1. Those who have gotten into having rats because they have become trendy, or they were an impulse purchase. They have not done their research, or enough research, and usually don't stick around very long (although a handful do end up in #2). They were not prepared for all the cons of rat care, and usually end up rehoming their rats and dropping out of sight. Some are people who have also become rat parents unexpectedly and need some information or new homes.
2. Die-hard rat owners who have had rats for many years, and could probably live to be 100 and still have a rat on each shoulder. They have dedicated their entire lives to their care, well-being and happiness, and will probably have something to do with rats carved into their tombstones. Maybe even a carved rat itself. Many would be driving BMW's, but have chosen to have rats instead, and some will have rats immortalized on their bodies with tattoos.
There is a grey area in between, which is made up of a lot of people, but I find that most people fall into #1 and a small percentage make up #2.
Fortunately, this forum has somehow miraculously managed to attract those from #2 from all over. There is no other forum out there, that I have ever been a member of, that has so many of those #2 rat parents on it. That makes this forum a very special place, and the best rat forum that has ever existed - in my opinion anyway.
It also means that new members are going to get the very best information here, and won't have to worry about whether the information that they get is in the best interest of their little tykes. It always will be.
There are so many decades of experience and knowledge here that, unless your rat has managed to learn how to drive your car, there probably isn't a situation that someone here hasn't come across before and can provide advice on.
That is why you will also get a bit of heated responses sometimes, especially to threads from people who are clearly not doing what is in the best interest of their rats or rats in general. It is due to the passion and dedication that so many members have, and the fact that they will stop at nothing to make the lives of rats everywhere better.

 

[Jennw]

It is due to the passion and dedication that so many members have, and the fact that they will stop at nothing to make the lives of rats everywhere better.

Well said, Vanessa.

 

[Moon]

Personally a little upset that this thread went from a happy, I love the rat community to a scornful I hate purebred owners thread.

I love the rat community.

I love my purebred dog, and my past purebreds. My current dog will be a showdog. He will also hopefully be involved in Rally-O, Agility, and have his Canine Good Neighbour certificate when he is old enough. He is not a status symbol.

I also loved my past rescue dogs, and will love my future ones.

I dislike the rescue community when they turn outright on people who have bought their dogs. There can be good reason to buying your dog from a breeder who is truly passionate about the breed and is working only towards bettering it.

I intend on my next dog being a retired racing greyhound, as my heart lies with the breed.

 

[Dahlas]

Like many people on hear I love all animals...and enjoy and value them for their individuality....Dogs are my first love, my passion, my soul......But I love my rats and my cats with the same intensity..........I just don't "relate" to other peoples rats and cats the same way I do with all dogs...I love them of course but it doesn't happen instantly like it does with a dog.......When I meet a dog...any dog...it is like we have already met and already know one another........it is a pretty intense feeling.... It is like I speak their language.

I have met many groups of people......dog people, cat people, horse people and now rat people and I would say that the rat people I have met seem to be closer....working together more....offering and excepting advice...it has been a wonderful experience to meet everyone on here....Maybe it is because rats are kind of the underdogs of the pet world....there are not many of us rat lovers so we tend to stick together more........

On no other forum or in any other organization I have been involved in have I ever received so much support and been made to feel so welcome....
The Rat Shack in a wonderful place to be.........
My rats and I would be lost without you guys........

 

[lilspaz68]

Moon, we aren't talking about someone who wanted a dog from a breeder (you and Shel have some lovely pups :thumbup: ), but I think they are talking about the pet-shop misled people who buy unwittingly from puppy mills ("Hey look, I can do time payments and get a puppy...how cool is that??"), OR the people who will ONLY buy from a breeder because Mutts and rescues are not worth it to them.

I, like you, would love a retired greyhound one day, they are my favourite dog!!

 

[Moon]

I didn't gather that most people were thinking that people who buy purebreds were the devil.. but knowing what a lot of people on here think of breeders... OF ANYTHING... the talk was going that way quickly.

In the show world I have met my share of snooty dog people... but there's also snooty horse people, cat people and somewhere out there rat people. I was just sad to see this otherwise lovely thread take the crummy turn it did. Because there are a lot of crummy dog people, there are also lots of wonderful ones who work hard to weed the crummy ones out.

And one day Shelagh, you have to meet Tungsten. Not at your place though... that would be a disaster LOL! (a couple rat cages he can handle, but after the nose chomps he has had, seeing your place would make him hit the ceiling!)

 

[Pauley]

...they are talking about the pet-shop misled people who buy unwittingly from puppy mills ("Hey look, I can do time payments and get a puppy...how cool is that??"), OR the people who will ONLY buy from a breeder because Mutts and rescues are not worth it to them.

It like this....Buying dogs to brag about what they cost........it saddens me.

My love for animals is without bounds :heart: ......not so much so with some of thier caretakers. :flushed:

:threadjacked:

 

[KayRatz]

I by no means think all purebred dog owners are bad, and would personally love a German Shepherd someday.