Pets are the best. They are lovable, dependable, grateful, cuddly, friendly, funny, shaggy, and beautiful, in varying measures.
Pets teach children to look after another being. They teach children the values of loyalty and friendship, and tolerance (by modeling them). Children learn to take responsibility, to remember to feed the creature that depends on them, and to persevere in keeping their territory clean. Many times children don't remember and don't persevere, of course, but eventually they get the hang of it.
But still, rats... I was a bit reluctant, to put it mildly, when we embarked on the rats. Especially when we discovered they would need an enormous cage for them. EBay came up with the goods though, so, we moved on in the ratward direction. When Dan and Alex came home with two male Dumbo rats, they were shy to tell me why the males were available while all the females were gone... male dumbo rats carry the most enormous testes under their tail! Oh well, we politely ignore them.Otherwise, the rats are cuter than I had anticipated. These rats have white bodies and black head and shoulders - so they look like they are wearing medieval hoods. They are quite handsome really. They are called Sneaky, and Spotsy. They will play and sit on people's shoulders, but at the moment they are still scared and scurry for their little log house when we come close to the cage.
Meanwhile Abby has two gorgeous gerbils, Peanut and Conker. They are far prettier, with furry tails and bright semispherical eyes. I love the gerbils! They spend all day springing in their wheel until they tire and fall out, and pawing through their food bowl; they burrow into the sawdust to rest and crawl out all sleepy-eyed and adorable.I doubt the rats will win me over as the gerbils have, but, you never know.
