Dear Journal...

An Abandoned Rat

So today at work, a woman came in with a little black rat. He was very sweet and friendly as I picked him up and let him cuddle in my arm. The woman is a frequent shopper at the family-owned pet supply store I work at. A week ago she had told me that she had found two male rats in the parking lot of Lowe’s Home Improvement store. They were each in little clear plastic critter keepers. She had called a vet, but took them with her when she left because she didn’t have time to wait for help to arrive.

She had been trying to nurse them back to health for a week when the white male died. Cause unknown. She thinks it was wet tail but I’ve only heard of wet tail in hamsters and I’ve never had a wet tail problem in all the years I’ve had hamsters.

Anyway, the black male looks healthy but is sneezing quite a bit. I figured he just had a minor upper respiratory infection, which are common in rats. I decided to take him since she was looking for a home to give him to anyway… I am going to be scheduling a vet appointment for this Thursday. This gives me a few nights to watch and take notes on his health and behavior. I really hope he turns out to be okay, but I’ll keep you guys posted!

Also, if you’re wondering, my Critter Nation did not arrive at work. In fact, I found out by a co-worker that the cage is on backorder and they have no idea when it will arrive. I suppose it’s kind of ironic that I have such a great cage arriving soon… Depending on what happens with the rat, I may end up waiting on the hedgehog and buy the Critter Nation for the rat, who I have decided to name, “Eli.”