Oscar, my 2nd rat
by Natasha Green
(New Philadelphia, Ohio)
This is Oscar. He is my very second rat after my first rat, Charlie, died. I have no pictures of charlie, as I was only 7-8 and didn’t have anything to take pictures with. He was a Rex hooded. I wasn’t really a “rat lover” at that time. Up until then, I didn’t have pets so I was just looking for cool pets to have. Originally, I was thinking of mice but one trip to the pet store changed that! I have found that dumbo rats make great pets so I go Charlie. I had no experience. He was already 8 months old and died at 2 years. I was devastated! I had told myself that I will never go through that pain ever again. But one day, when we went to the pet store for something (I can’t quite remember), I saw a cage full of gorgeous dumbos. I have always wanted a blonde one but when I picked up a cute little black n white one, I immediately fell in love. I begged my parents for him so we got Oscar, my lovely dumbo boy. I still didn’t have much experience so Oscar has lived alone for most of his life. I got so addicted to rats that I go two more but they were females (kept in a separate cage). Then I realized that it wasn’t too late to get Oscar cage mates, so I ended up getting two more. Now I have 5 happy rats. I am still sad about Charlie but having more rats to keep me busy is the best way to make me feel better. I always say “The more the merrier!”