Rats are cool pets

Wee Companions has rescued 2,160 animals since 2003
By Carly Bartkiewicz
UNION-TRIBUNE

Rolland, a big butterball of a rat, nestled comfortably in Fenella Speece's arms. Speece caressed his head and tickled his bristly back.

He barely shifted in her embrace. Speece says Rolland is so sociable he is "therapeutic." She takes him to pet adoption events to ease people's fears of rats. Speece says the domestic rodents are smart, obedient pets that are less nippy than hamsters and respond when their names are called.

This all comes from a woman who wouldn't even hold a rat 10 years ago. Speece, 46, is the president and founder of Wee Companions Small Animal Adoption Inc., one of the only small-animal rescue groups south of Los Angeles. Speece runs the nonprofit organization out of her home in Imperial Beach.

Wee Companions has saved more than 2,160 abandoned critters, many of them rats, Speece said. Those numbers reflect Wee Companions' work since 2003, when the organization became an official nonprofit. Speece started saving small animals on her own in 1998.

"There are people who think we're absolutely nuts," Speece said about her animal clique and specifically the rat fanatics. "But that is what is so great about San Diego. It is a city of great variety."

Wee Companions takes in a wide range of palm-sized pets: rats, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and mice.

The group operates on about $12,000 a year, has no paid employees and functions solely on adoption fees, personal donations and the Speece family's contributions. Some of the 30 volunteers also keep animals in their homes.

Speece's connection with animals began with guinea pigs, which she has loved since growing up in England's North London. Her fascination was fueled further when she took a course in rodentology in the United Kingdom.

But Speece decided to focus her career on people, and she earned a degree as a registered nurse.
When Speece moved to San Diego in 1995 after her Navy husband was stationed here, she attended a pet adoption in Balboa Park. As usual, there were dozens of dogs and cats.

And one guinea pig was ambling on a table top. She took him home and, eventually, hundreds more.

Speece did some research and concluded the outlook was bleak for abandoned small animals. Although shelters sometimes will take in rabbits and guinea pigs from people who no longer want them, very rarely are they found new homes. The majority of people looking to own "exotics" look to pet shops.

Speece gets some outside help caring for the animals. She brings many of her pets to Dr. Max Hibi at the Amazon Animal Hospital in Chula Vista for discounted medical care. Some shelters offer free or low-cost neutering.

Several of the 130 animals that Speece currently has in cages and incubation systems need intensive care. Some of the guinea pigs are blind, deaf, have diabetes or urinary and mobility problems.

Speece changes or refills their water every few hours, and sometimes she is cleaning cages past 10 p.m. It takes her a minimum of three hours to clean all the cages, which she does at least once a week. On top of that, Speece works part time as a nurse in La Jolla.

"I always knew I wanted to help," she said. "It is something that has just evolved and grown."

Speece visits several shelters – from Chula Vista to Oceanside – weekly to take in abandoned animals. Wee Companions has taken in guinea pigs from San Francisco and Orange County after Speece was told they would be euthanized.

"Wee Companions are our saviors," said Dr. Dorothy York, who is a veterinarian and manager of the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility.

"Some people give up guinea pigs that aren't very friendly, and I do worry about the small animals that come in being overlooked. (Wee Companions) are an invaluable resource and they give invaluable advice about the care and feeding the animals need."

So far this year, Wee Companions has made 36 trips to the Chula Vista facility, each time picking up several animals, even an entire litter of five to eight baby rats, York said.

Wee Companions uses its Web site, www.weecompanions.com, to find homes. It holds adoption events. Many of the pets are spayed or neutered and cost between $10 and $40. Speece screens both the animals and their prospective owners before she lets a pet out of her care.

Rats are an acquired love for Speece. She says her two daughters alleviated some of her initial rodent apprehension. Their preschool crossing guard kept rats in her pockets and allowed the children to pet them. Speece's daughters eventually got mom to pet them, too.

Now Speece is one of the main organizers of Ratfest, an annual gathering of about 50 rat fans that includes a potluck lunch, raffle and, of course, adoptable rats. This year's festival was held last weekend in Tierrasanta. o15

"I have learned more about people from rescuing rats," Speece said. "People instinctively determine that rats are disgusting. That they are vermin. But I've realized they are very cool pets."

A Wee bit of help goes along way for these fury ones...