Rats can be fine furry friends

While breeding guinea pigs for a 4-H project in high school, Laura McLain decided she wanted to be a veterinarian. But not just any vet. McLain wanted to provide tender, loving care to the small furry animals often overlooked in a profession focused on cats and dogs.

So, while most of her colleagues only treat cats and canines, McLain expanded her practice to include what she calls "pocket pets." She currently treats guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, chinchillas, mice, rats, hamsters and hedgehogs.
"It's just a special interest," she said.

Veterinary school students receive very little, if any, education about small mammals, so most of what McLain knows she learned through outside study. She has no special board certification, but her homework and practice made her enough of an expert that people and small pets come to her from all over the Salt Lake Valley.

They're just cuddly," Martinez said of the animals, which she bought last July. "If you can get past the fact that they're rodents, they're very sweet."

Recently, Martinez's 12-year-old daughter placed Nelson in her Barbie Porsche and drove him around the house. The animal-loving family bonded fast and strong with
their tiny pets.

...lovable critters...