Suzzie the Rat

There she is. The beady-eyed little sweetie. Not you, Monica, I mean the rat.

This is my daughter's pet rat, Suzzie. She is two years old. That makes her about 60 in human years. The photo was taken when she was much younger.

Suzzie is kind of chubby rat with graying hair now. Her energy level isn't quite what it used to be. She moves slower, seems less impulsive, and this gives her the appearance of being a wise old rat.

Maybe that's all wisdom is: keeping quiet until you've had a chance to think about it, whatever it is.

Suzzie doesn't leap up to the top story of her 3-story apartment anymore. She waddles up the ramps and will only climb to the top if there is the promise of food. Speaking of food, she expects to be fed, by Monica, or Jocelyn, or both if she can convince them, each evening around 9 or 10 p.m.

Last night she had to go without food because this morning Suzzie had surgery. She has a touch of breast cancer and the veterinarian is removing a tumor today. We'll get Suzzie back later today, a little drowsy, with a shaved spot and some stitches.

Despite being a rat--I purposely didn't show a photo that displayed her hairless tail, the attribute that normally bothers people--Suzzie is a pet. She interacts with everyone in the family. She likes sitting on your shoulder or being cradled in your arms. She will come when called. And she likes tiny bits of bread and cheese, though we keep her on a pretty strict "rat food" diet.

With some luck (and maybe another surgery if any tumors come back) Suzzie should live another year. We knew that when we bought her that we wouldn't have her for long, but she has been a source of enjoyment for us. She's led a pretty good life.

If you want a pet that is intelligent, clean, easy to maintain, and fun to have, I can't recommend a rat highly enough. Just be careful if you get a male and a female...they can start breeding at five weeks old and the gestation period is about five weeks. And the typical litter size is about a dozen. You can wind up with a lot of rats very quickly. I don't recommend that.

Let me know about your pet, exotic or mundane, in the comments.

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