Jazz playing "Hide the ball from the bunny!"
Jasmine was my first ratgirl and also my first to the Bridge.This is her story...and mine too.
When my three children were growing up there came the day when my youngest wanted a pet of her "own". My eldest, Michelle, was guardian to a hamster named Sunny. My middle daughter, Cristi, had her cat Josh. I reminded Kristin, then 10, that we did have our bunny Daisy and 14 mice...which had started out as two mice. (Squeaky had NOT been a boy and that had NOT been a tumor growing in her mid section).To say nothing of Hammy the long haired Teddy Bear hamster that was forever grooming himself and rearranging his cage. My daughter made her appeal."But Mom!" she complained. "I want a pet my friends can play with too!" Well, I did have to admit that Daisy bunny was not much for playing with a group of clutching children...and the mice DID "go" all over whoever took them out of their cage...and Hammy was prone to bite if he was having a bad hair day. So, I queried, what kind of pet? "A dog", came my daughter's immediate reply. I reminded her that we could not have a dog with Josh and Daisy. I refused to become the Farmer in the Dell. We would have to think of something else. Someone else. So that day began the search for a "perfect pet" for a child and her friends..."perfect" being one that didn't bite or "go" on anyone (the mice had deplorable bathroom habits..but I did love them)... and one that didn't "smell bad" to a group of girls...and actually enjoyed being played with. I wondered if such an animal existed.
Then,it happened! A friend of my daughter's, slightly older, came to the house bearing a cage that inhabited the biggest mouse I had ever seen! "Mom!" came my daughter's excited squeal, "Meet Gizmo!" My daughter's friend placed "Gizmo" on the kitchen table and I was already thinking of what spray cleaner I would use when he was removed. "Gizmo" was a rat. I had never seen a rat...except in "Willard" and "Ben" which probably didn't count. My daughter was beside herself. "They don't bite. They don't smell bad. They don't go to the bathroom on people and...HE LOVES TO PLAY WITH US!"
With that the two girls left the room to go upstairs to find "Barbie" clothes that "Gizmo" would soon be adorned in. I looked at Gizmo and he looked at me. "If my husband comes in and finds you on the table we are both in BIG trouble", I told the whiskered face that had come to the side of the cage to meet me. I put my finger to the bar of the cage and he sniffed a hello. I fell immediatley in love.
The next day found Kristin and I rat shopping. Arriving at the pet shop, one of the workers escorted us to the back of the store where we came to a tank filled with many colors and varieties of "Gizmos". "I want a girl", Kristin told the employee. "Black." Reaching in to the back of the 10 gallon tank the man took out the sweetest little rat body...black with white abdomen and forefeet...and asked: "Is this for a pet?" Surprised I answered "Yes, for my daughter." (I was blessedly unaware at the time of mice and rats being sold as "feeders"). "Well, then you might want to consider taking two. They are happiest with a cage companion," he advised. Thinking of the 16 mice I shook my head. "No, just one, please." (*The store owner was correct in that rats are happier caged with a companion...but at the time all I could think about were the mice!)
The man placed the little rat into a small box and Kristin reached out her hands to take her."Jasmine!" she said proudly. "Her name will be Jasmine like the princess in Aladin." I paid at the counter for Jasmine and the necessary rat trappings. We then left the store with our precious cargo.
Arriving home I suggested that we set up Jasmine's cage and keep her in the utility room until I had a chance to tell "Dad" about our new house member. Kristin reluctantly agreed but wanted to stay downstairs with her new friend .Five o'clock came and I heard the garage door open. My husband was home. The door to the entryway from the garage to the downstairs opened and closed. I called Kristin from the utility room to come upstairs in case her father went in to say hello and found Jasmine before I had a chance to announce her arrival. We ate dinner and talked about the things of the day...well, MOST of the things of the day...and afterward Kristin asked to be excused to go downstairs to "watch TV" (see Jasmine). As I cleared the dishes from the table I thought it was as good a time as any to broach the subject of Jasmine now sharing our home. I told my husband about the visit from Kristin's friend and the meeting with "Gizmo". "What would you think about a rat companion for Kristin?" I casually asked him.
"A WHAT??" came the known reply. I listed all of "Gizmo's" endearing traits but my husband was not impressed. "When I was a kid we used to pay to get RID of those things! Now you want to pay to bring one into the house??" A conclusion was made. No rats.
Now a little about my husband's background...and mine.He grew up in the south side of Chicago Illinois directly in the heart of the city. The rats he and his brother had described resembled not at all the little ball of rat fur waiting to meet him. They often told of animals as big as cats...sharp teeth and long claws and tails...destroying all in their pathways. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago with lawns neatly manicured and sidewalks so clean you could eat off them. "Would you just LOOK at her?" I asked. "Do you mean you already have one of those things in the house somewhere?" "Yes. She's in the utillity room with Kristin, in the cage we bought for her", I replied and explained our dose of rat fever since meeting "Gizmo". "You have one in a CAGE??" He was disbelieving. "How on earth do you fit one of those in a cage?" (Now was NOT the time to mention that "Gizmo" had been in HIS cage on the table where we had just had dinner).
My husband started down the stairs with me in tow and headed toward the utility room. "I want that rat out of the house before someone gets bit!" He stated emphatically. We rounded the corner to the little room where Kristin sat holding her new friend.
"Dad", she exclaimed. "Meet Jasmine!"
"Kristin", came the reply, "go back upstairs. Your mother and I need to talk." She left the room with a few more pleas on Jasmine's defense and moments later we heard her bedroom door shut. Now, my husband...
The issue was closed. No rats in the house. EVER. Even if Jazz didn't LOOK like a rat...at least not like the rats he had seen in his childhood... there would be no such animal in his house. I stopped him." Would you just LOOK at her?" I pleaded.No, he would not. The rat was going back to the store...tomorrow..unless they were still open for "returns" tonight. I went back to the kitchen and finished clearing the dishes putting off telling Kristin of her father's decision. (I will admit, I should have waited and discussed it with him first before buying the rat...but as the fates be I am glad I didn't!)
After the last dish was done I went toward the bedroom to talk to Kristin but stopped as I rounded the corner and heard my husband's voice coming from the utility room downstairs. I couldn't believe my ears! My husband was talking to Jazz! Having been married a number of years I have learned that in times like this you just wait. :o) And wait I did. Kristin came out of her room hearing the conversation between father and rat. We both then went downstairs. "Do you like her Dad?" Kristin hopefully asked.
"Well," came the response. " She's ok for a rat!" And...he smiled!
From that day on, my husband became a rat lover, calling her by a pet name he gave..."Ratman".
"Ratman" quickly became the first he said Hello to when entering the house. When she passed to the Bridge I was surprised to see my big carpenter husband with tears in his eyes. As for me...the children are now grown but I couldn't imagine being without the companionship of a pet rat! A ratty companion turned out to be even more than I expected! To me, rats are like many pets rolled into one ball of rat fur! They are small but not too small for a child to play with. (With supervision of course more for the rats' sake). They are like cats in that they are immaculate. Like dogs in their ability to return love and companionship. Like rabbits in the fact that they are quiet animals...perfect for a senior citizen. They are highly intelligent and fun to watch and be with.
Jasmine, my first ratty encounter, has led me to years of lovable and loving companions. She is my "Jazz" and I will never forget her. Jasmine fell suddenly very ill to a respiratory infection . In this I learned the hard way about "masking". Many small animals will "mask" or cover an illness until it is too late. The immediate rush to the vet proved fruitless but at least we knew that we did all we could for her.
One thing though I will never forget. That evening as I stood by Jasmine's cage talking to her and petting her I had a sudden ray of hope. She seemed to take a turn for the better and wanted to come out of her cage. Happily I got her out and held her close. After several moments she seemed to struggle and wanted to get back into her home. I placed her back into her cage believing I would see her in the morning. I turned from the cage to walk from the room and heard a slight cough. I looked at my friend and discovered she had passed to the Bridge. It is my firm belief that Jasmine wanted to say "Goodbye". I know in my heart that this is true.
Since Jasmine I have not been without a rat companion...for me now,my daughter is long grown!And as for my husband...he couldn't imagine a house without a "Ratman" either!
Is there life at the Rainbowbridge?
The lady seated across from me in the crowded vet's office stared, seemingly more out of disdain than interest. I held the cage close to me on my lap."Are those Ferrets?" she finally asked.
