ACCOUNTANT BY DAY

Last week I got a pair of nice little rats. When I went to the pet store to pick out my new animal, I knew I’d be bringing home either another dwarf hamster or a rat. I went to the Pet Stop over on Nieman, because they have a lot of little animals and they are very nice about letting you pick them up and pet them. When I got there the lady said to take my time picking out a pet, and ask if I needed anything. So I spent an hour or so playing with the tiny hamsters and rats. I found a dwarf hamster that I liked pretty well, and he was orange so I thought I might call him Mr. Pumpkin or Steven if I took him home. But I had never had a rat before, and I found two rats I liked a lot.

After a while the lady came back over and asked me if I’d made a decision, but I told her I couldn’t pick between them. “Well, rats are only four dollars,” she pointed out. “And they’re social so they do much better in pairs than alone. So you could just get both of them.” So I did. As discussed earlier, I named one Holly. The other one I named Pippin after great deliberation. I almost named him Pumpkin. And I’m still sort of considering it now, naming him Pumpkin. It’s such a satisfying sounding word. Pumpkin.

My rats are supposed to grow quite large, up to 9-11 inches not including their tails. They do not bite, and so far they don’t like being held, but I understand that they’re supposed to grow out of this eventually with handling. I’m learning a lot about rats lately. They are social and like company. One book claims they are as loyal and affectionate as dogs. They are curious. And they love to climb. So I’m setting them up in a tall aquarium with sticks and ladders and things for them to go around on. They love yogurt drops!