They also serve as a place for people to bring their no-longer-wanted pets, or if they can’t keep the pet for whatever reason. People surrender dogs and cats for all kinds of reasons, from getting divorced, having a baby to needing to move. Rescue organizations also work with the municipal shelters and animal control authorities to rescue and rehome animals. For example, I was once talking to a lady from the local Great Dane rescue group. She was telling me how they rescued the dog she had. His former owner kept him chained in the backyard with no food or water and never gave him any vet care. When she rescued him, he was skeletal and very infested with mange, ticks, and fleas and was on the verge of death. You’d be shocked at how some people “take care” of their pets!
No different for rat rescue, or reptile rescue or any other species.
Well, also wolves. Domestic rats are Brown rats, rattus norvegicus. Black rats are the other main species. Brown rats are brownish gray; pet rats are all kinds of colors and patterns and have been bred as a domestic animal for centuries.
Rats actually make great pets (if you can get over them being rats, which I never could, but my son had one, really very social and affectionate).
My take is a little along the lines of “beggers can’t be choosers” - if someone’s rat dies, and they want to get rid of their rat stuff and want to donate it to your rescue, feeding more rats mediocre quality food is better than not having the resources to rescue enough rats and having people let their pet rats out in the wild. Being able to give a cage away with the rat - even if it isn’t the best possible cage, makes placing rats easier, allowing you to rescue more rats.
If you have plenty of resources for the rats you rescue and no need for more, go ahead and be picky.
(Similar feelings on rescues dealing with dogs, cats or possums - there are probably purebred rescues where there are more homes waiting than dogs and plenty of money - but too many of these organizations get too picky - and therefore save fewer animal lives)
But a lot more Americans consider coyotes to be vermin than do wolves. Unless you’re a western rancher, wolves are (smallish) charismatic megafauna. Not vermin. So the comparison I made would fall apart if I’d mentioned wolves.
Rats are way better than mice, hamsters, and presumably gerbils (not legal so I’ve only seen them as an adult). More social, intelligent, and clean (more than mice at least).
The “rats. as pets!?” meme seems incredibly dated to me, like a movie or TV show calling someone a nerd for playing video games when everyone and their grandma does today. Or an otherwise urbane person gasping and saying “Sushi!? Isn’t that raw fish? :eek:” You may not know anyone who owns any but I’m surprised that it’s an alien concept.
Ah, I didn’t get it at first. Wolves are a highly protected species, whereas coyotes can be shot without a tag or limit in most (all?) states that have them.
I know almost nothing about rats, but a bit about dog rescue. When you’re feeding Brand X food today and Brand Y tomorrow because that’s what got donated, you run the risk of Snoopy coming down with a perpetual case of diarrhea or upset stomach (some breeds are notorious for this). You can end up with an unexpected vet bill or need for medication, a dog that requires a lot more time commitment to clean cages, etc., and a dog that can’t be taken to this afternoon’s adoption event. The donor’s “generosity” cost you precious resources and made it more difficult to save more lives.
A lot of rescues, therefore, have more or less standardized on a particular formula or specific brand, not because they’re “picky” but because they figured out that accepting everything cost them more in the long run than only accepting a much narrower list that they could actually use.
“Fancy rats” are the domesticated breeds descended from the brown Norway rat. Just like dogs are domesticated breeds descended from the gray wolf. Someone’s pet rat is no more “vermin” than someone else’s cocker spaniel is a vicious predator. wild/city rats are “vermin” because they spend their lives rooting through shit. domesticated rats are no “filthier” than a pet hamster, gerbil, or guinea pig. In fact, they’re quite intelligent.
I’m not sure I’d want to rescue any breed myself that had that sort of issue, my dogs have all been iron bellied mutts, and while I feed them good food, I switch brands based off where I am shopping and what is carried. Besides if they barf from merely a change in dog food, what happens when they get into the pizza the seventeen year old left on the floor of his room? I just need a sturdier dog in my life.
For most of the “sensitive stomach” breeds, the effect of suddenly changing food isn’t vomiting. It’s paint-peeling gas and diarhea. Very much one of those “I like that food, but it doesn’t like me” kinds of things.
You’ve never heard of wildlife rescue? I volunteered at one weekly for a while. Birds, squirrels, turtles, yes possums… Bats and raccoons had to go to foster homes, foxes and skunks we weren’t legally allowed, deer had a specialized farm, bears went to the zoo, raptors to the raptor rescue.
Obviously not the same thing as a rat or dog rescue (we kept our animals wild and released them). But certainly exists.
Well, I just had an experience reminding me of this thread.
Was out for a walk in my neighborhood on this beautiful autumn day and there’s a big ol’ dead rat lying on the sidewalk.
I looked up the number for “Animal services” in my city to call it in. First thing I say when I get somebody on the line is, “I’m calling to report a dead animal on the sidewalk in City. Is this the right number for that?”
“Yes” she says.
“OK, well it’s on the corner of A St and B St in City. It’s a dead rat.”
“Oh, it’s a rat. Well, we don’t normally do rats. Just domestic animals.” the girl says. (so clearly, at least this city doesn’t consider rats to be “domestic animals” Though in fairness it’s pretty unlikely this was somebody’s escaped pet rat.)
“Well, it’s a dead animal on the city sidewalk so I would figure somebody must be responsible for removing it. I’m sure as hell not touching it. Is there another number I need to call?” I ask.
She tells me that she’ll call an “officer” out there to get it. I assumed she meant a police officer, though I had no idea that picking up roadkill was part of their typical job duties. Go figure.
This is exactly what I was going to say. I volunteered for a shelter that didn’t specify donations. I’m not sure why not. It was a county shelter so maybe they couldn’t? Or they didn’t want to discourage anyone? Anyway, people would think they were doing a wonderful thing by donating a bag of food, but the result was a roomful of single bags (and cans) of food.
The shelter contracted with Hill’s to provide the everyday food, so the donated bags were given away with adoptions. Let the new owners deal with the diarrhea, I guess!
It was a wonderful shelter, but I never understood why they allowed all those food donations.
I had a sorta-similar experience this morning too.
As I was leaving a large building I saw a dead squirrel in the adjacent parking lot. Doubtless it’d been recently squashed by a car. No need to call Animal Control though. There was a vulture there busy disassembling the squirrel. It was about half eaten with entrails akimbo. After much beeping he’d grudgingly give way to passing cars then quickly return to his breakfast with gusto.
Animal Control? We don’t need no steenkin’ taxpayer-funded Animal Control. We got us the *Natural *Animal Control!
The best part? The building was a hospital. A people hospital, not a pet hospital. Vultures staking out a hospital. Hell of an image before I got *my *breakfast.
Last 5K I ran there was the flattest damned squirrel I ever saw in my life on the course. Like a cartoon dead squirrel. I was looking forward to the dude with the dog who had been so careless with the leash with the runners who was just behind me…
Though in fairness it’s pretty unlikely this was somebody’s escaped pet rat.)