Saturday, May 21, 2011

Welcome to our "little" family!- Small Pet Rescue

Hi everyone! I hope you make yourself comfortable here. If you are a pocket pet owner, have had them in the past, or are simply curious about them, you hopefully will like our little neck of the woods. Our team has an extensive knowledge about small animals ( be sure to check out our Forum), and we hope to further your knowledge of topics like proper care and rescue, as well as show you some of the wonderful creations our team members have made honoring these wonderful creatures. I wanted to commemorate this first post by conducting an interview with one of our Team members. Her name is Jan and her shop is RAT SAC Hammocks ( username RatAttackTeam). She was very gracious to answer my questions for me, as well as share some wonderful pictures of her rescued furkids.   Please Enjoy!   


DO YOU WORK FOR OR VOLUNTEER FOR ANY PARTICULAR ORGANIZATION? No, I got into rescue by saving a rat I found outside where I worked. Since then I have done rescue out of my home.    

HOW DO YOU HELP TO FIND RATS IN NEED? They find me! There are 2 shelters & my vet who call upon me when rats are involved.


HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING RESCUE? I found my first boy in the alley where I worked in August of 1998 & got hooked on the sweeties.


WHAT KINDS OF SITUATIONS HAVE YOU FOUND THESE RESCUES FROM? People tend to think they are saving a rat by "setting them free", not a good idea. So I have captured some outside & other people have captured them & brought them to the city shelter/humane society or called my vet asking what to do. Rats adapt very well outside & do mate with Norway (wild) rats. I was called by our wildlife rescue to capture a rattie in a wood pile because they couldn't catch it. So I went there with a few yogies (yogurt treats) and she (they were calling it BEN & feeding "him" bratwurst!) came right up & I just had to scoop her into my cage. She was my biggest girl ever, although living outside she had a botfly larvae in her side.


WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT YOU ENCOUNTER WHEN DEALING WITH RESCUED PETS? Figuring out their age because at different stages of a ratties life, health issues arise. Also if they have been socialized! I had one boy rat who seemed nice til he sunk his teeth into the back of my hand & wouldn't let go! (he got neutered  & was nice after that) & 2 ratties who were so tramatized by a college professors young son that I did eventually have them put down.


DO YOU FEEL THERE ARE SPECIAL RISKS INVOLVED WHEN TRYING TO FIND FOREVER HOMES FOR RATS AS OPPOSED TO CATS AND DOGS? The main risk is-- will the rat be snake food!!! And trying to find a home for rats-- not too many people want them because they are afraid. So I have never rehomed any of my rescues, they find their forever homes with me.


WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE FUTURE PET PARENTS WANTING TO TAKE IN A RESCUE? Make sure to ask questions, age, male/female, is he/she socialized & has she/he biten any one. (rats rarely bite if socialized properly) Make sure to adopt 2 or more of the same gender too. Rats are social animals 
WHAT DOES FOSTERING ENTAIL? I've only done it once and 2 years later I still have her! Be prepared to keep the rattie forever. Otherwise, make sure you have an agreement how long you will care for them & who will pay for expenses.
IF AN ANIMAL NEEDS IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION, WHAT DO YOU DO? Call a vet asap! Rats are very fragile and seconds count if it's a serious problem!

WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST TO SOMEONE WHO HAS FOUND A RAT IN DISTRESS? Again, call a vet, animal control, humane society or the police! 


ARE THERE ANY WEBSITES OR HELPFUL RESOURCES THAT YOU RECOMMEND FOR SOMEONE THAT WANTS TO HELP OR IS LOOKING FOR A FOREVER HOME FOR A RESCUED RAT? Tons of info out there now! Just Google it!
I have 2 websites: www.freewebs.com/ratattackteam & www.BoulderRats.googlegroups.com & belong to Pittsburgh Rat LoversGroup http://groups.google.com/group/pittsburgh-rat-lovers-club?hl=en on GoogleGroups. There are rat groups on www.Care2.com too plus many rat rescues across the country. Joining a rat group helps you learn lots from experienced people.
For medical info : www.ratguide.com
For basic good info : www.joinrats.com or www.RMCA.org
Vet referral list: http://www.ratfanclub.org/vetrefw.html. 
I would suggest volunterring at shelters or being available to help transfer ratties or any animal to their forever homes. Join a rat group, they'll have many suggestions on how you can help!
Jan's Bio:
Wile E. Rat, my first guy who I captured outside where I worked, was about to be used as snake food by a construction worker who saw him. I didn't know a thing about rats except this was no ordinary rat. I took him home & got on the internet to find how to care for him. LOL, I didn't know it was a him (and it's so easy to tell now). He was so gentle & sweet. It wasn't until he got very sick at 2yrs old and needed to be euthanized when I called several vets to ask how they would euthanize a rat. Well, I found the one who would do it right & have stayed with them all these years. Since rats aren't that common for most vets, I provide them with rat knowledge. Rats are what woke me up to animal rights since rats & mice are used 95% for animal research which is the wrong species as they are nothing like humans! So I became a member of several animal advocate groups such as PETA, PCRM&Navs which promote the humane treatment of animals & research through non-animal methods.
One of my favorite quotes is " My furs are not in storage or lying across my bed, they're hanging from the cage door waiting to be fed"I have also read many delightful rat books too like Dr. Rat ( an Animal Farm type story) & The Amazing Maurice & his Educated rats (a Pied Piper story).
Jan has been on Etsy as RAT SAC Hammocks since January 9th, 2009. Check out her sales and customer feedback! You can find a treasury with some of her hammocks and other shop items in the Our Featured Shops page. And don't forget to see her rescues by clicking the Our Furbabies tab!
             
                           author: Amanda Milam (ChibiandCharming)