So frequently, I hear people say things like that the ferret looks like a
rat--yuch!  Don't put it near me.  As Kat knows-domesticated rats are
charming and sweet living beings.
 
My response to being deliberately insulted is to inform others that the
domesticated rat is a lovely companion with wit and whiskers.  The mouse
and hamster or a dog are far more likely to bite than the domesticated
rat.  I go on to tell them the story of how I ended up with a white rat-
if they seem open to discussion.
 
I sobbed my guts out when Pockets disappeared.  I had him in boxes outside
one summers day that were connected and had treats and tubes and nesting
material.  A lunk head I would no longer date came over sobbing about how
sorry he was that he had been a thief and liar, and by the time he stopped
blubbering and realized I would never see him again, and I got back
home-Pockets was gone.  It was dusk, and I am afraid a cat may have gotten
to him.  I became the blubbering mess.
 
I know a woman who has her rat sleep in bed.  He goes potty in his cage
that has been placed on a low table that is at the end of the bed.  She
is Rat Woman, and rescues them as we do ferrets.  She and Mary Van Damn of
FAIR are good friends.
 
When I hear people say--eeww, your ferret looks like a rat-I act as though
they have given me a compliment -- usually.  However, if I am at the vets
with a sick ferret, and there is a rich snotty pompous woman with a dog
who volunteers her abhorrence orally with that sneering face that makes
the most beautiful woman look Ugly--I have created a terrifically snotty
but honest reply that stuns them into a stuttering silence, and wipes that
Ugly look right off...
 
By the way-- I LOVE dogs.
 
Actually, in order to avoid the whole thing, I found another office that
does not cater to the haughty little people with ugly souls last year.
 
But to those who don't know-the domesticated rat is truly a good
companion.  There is no shame in the ferret looking like one to some
people.  Those individuals just need to be educated as to the joy and
laughter to be found with both species.
 
Lisette
[Posted in FML issue 3668]