Wanting a Pet Rat and want to do a good deed?

Pets abandoned at Christmas.
KARRIE GILLETT

The message used to be a dog was for life, not just for Christmas. Now it appears other animals will have to be included.

Animal welfare centres throughout Scotland are seeing a substantial rise in the number of "furries" coming through their doors this year.

Rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, rats and guinea pigs are the latest victims of neglect, according to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Animal Welfare Centre at Balerno on the outskirts of Edinburgh also has rats and mice ... Once you become a pet owner, you need to take the responsibility seriously.

The SSPCA had actively discouraged impulse buying by imposing a blanket ban on rehoming animals over Christmas at their facilities. However, that policy no longer operates.

...Want to do a good deed? go adopt a pet from the Animal Welfare homes :-)

Your Rat is an Exotic

Animal kingdom. Caring for exotic pets a specialty field
BY CHERYL MILLER
CORRESPONDENT

Dr. Michael Doolen is on a mission.

Not content to simply treat the avian and exotic animals he sees on a daily basis at the Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital in Ocean Township, he also wants to educate their owners and the professionals who work with them.

"Most of the problems I see in exotics are due to the way we produce and manage them," says the doctor, who grew up on a horse ranch in Montana, and has been keeping, raising and breeding all species of animals all his life. He now specializes in avian and reptile medicine and surgery.

He estimates that 40 to 45 percent of his patients are rabbits and ferrets, another 40 to 45 percent are birds, and 10 percent are reptiles and other "pocket pets," which can be mice, rats, chinchillas, guinea pigs and anything else "that can fit in your pocket."

Unlike a regular dog and cat practice, where about 75 percent of visits tend to be routine preventative care, like vaccinations and dentistry, about 75 percent of Doolen's patients tend be sick.

Problems arise when pet owners are unaware of their pets' origins, says Doolen.

"We need to look at their natural behaviors, see their behaviors in the wild state, instead of turning them into little humans," he says.

"Exotics are like a box of chocolates — you never know what you're going to get," he says, borrowing a phase from the movie "Forrest Gump."

Which is part of the reason he feels that exotics are growing as house pets, because "they're different, splashy, cool, interesting — and a lot of their owners have similar characteristics." Also, many residences don't allow dogs and cats, but will permit smaller animals.

And as exotic ownership grows, so does the medical field treating it. But it's still a smaller field than traditional veterinary science, Doolen says, and even smaller is the number of veterinarians solely treating exotics. Doolen estimates that about a third of his practice is referrals from other veterinarians lacking the knowledge to treat them.

Which is why he's made it his mission to educate them, and the public. He wants to "get more veterinarians comfortable with doing more exotics work." And he wants the public to understand that keeping these exotics as house pets is fine, "but we need to know how to do it so that the pets don't suffer the consequences.

...Dr. Doolen another Dr Dolitte? mmm...

Quiet on Set, Don't Chew the Scenery...and...Action!

Need a horse to neigh on cue? A canary to sing like a mobster? A llama to do, well, whatever you need a llama to do? Just call Mr. Berloni, agent to the stars of the animal kingdom.

Need a trained rat? Don't call Mr. Berloni.

"They're all booked," he said.

Mr. Berloni, who has 25 animals on his farm and represents 700 others, said that after he finds work for his clients, he puts them up in comfortable quarters near their jobs to ensure they are happy, well-fed and energetic before taking to the stage or working in front of a camera.

After dropping off his dogs with an assistant, Mr. Berloni took himself for a short walk north along Broadway until he came to the Marquis Theater, where a number of his other clients are working in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Woman in White."

Backstage, just off a hallway covered with theater reviews, playbills and framed head shots, was a dressing room that seemed more like a pet shop. Beatrice, a white rat, and her two understudies, Norma and Heffalump, zipped around a large cage as showtime neared.

Just 9 months old, Beatrice is already a veteran actress, and her understudies, each of whom is several months younger, are there in case something worse than a cold or a broken leg befalls her.

"Rats generally live about three years," said Rob Cox, the head animal trainer for the show. "Should anything happen to Beatrice, these two are ready to take her place."

As he spoke, Mr. Cox took Beatrice out of her cage and began warming her up. He spread his arms out wide, and the well-trained rodent ran circles around his neck, and back and forth across his shoulders, just as she must do on stage. As actors and actresses scurried by, Mr. Cox continued rehearsing with Beatrice and the other rats.

"Holding them like this helps me get in tune with what they are thinking, and to see how they are feeling," he said. "Lately, Beatrice has been real hyper, which is great for the show."

Norman Large, who was playing the part of Count Fosco on Thursday evening - the character who is fond of small animals and sings as the rat runs across his body - said that he could not remember Beatrice's ever failing to deliver on stage.

"She's one of the most consistent actors I've ever worked with," he said. "I just put my arms out and pretend I'm doing the work, but I'm just acting, and it's Beatrice who is doing the real work."

Sharing the rat pack's dressing room were 5 white mice and 10 canaries who were also set to go on stage. Mr. Berloni, petting one of his mice as he spoke, said it can take three months to a year to properly train mice and rats, and then he explained why his canaries were giving visitors the silent treatment.

...Cut!...its a wrap!

Helping families cope with loss of pet rat

Since opening the business in January 2005, Deb has provided solace to hundreds of grieving pet owners.

The service isn't limited to just dogs and cats, Deb has cremated rats, parakeets and potbellied pigs.

It's a role, she believes, God intended her to play.

Unfulfilled by her accounting job, Deb prayed for a sign that would lead her down an unbeaten career path. The next day she learned that Backyard Burials, a local pet interment and cremation service, was up for sale.

"I thought, there's no way that I can do this; there's no way I can go to people's homes and pick up their dead pets," says Deb, who has been severely allergic to dogs and cats since childhood. "But, the feeling wouldn't leave me, so I kept praying for an answer."

Deb called the owner of Backyard Burials and was invited to tag along on numerous pick-up calls. One residence they visited housed no less than a dozen cats. Miraculously, Deb's allergies didn't act up.

...May they rest in peace