I'm so sorry for your loss, Ed. I'm glad you can take comfort in having given her a hell of a rat life. I think your philosophy of pet ownership is right on an could also do a lot for the world in generalif more people could behave that way even just to pets.
AK says:
I am sorry about your rat, it looks like a most excellent rat. I had pet rats when I was a kid. We'd get really attached to them. They're just as personable as cats or other such long-lived pets, but the lifespan is so short. It became too much grief for us at a certain point.
Now my parents just have a friendly tortoise that will outlive us all.
Middle Seaman says:
Saw a twitt from @EdsRatViola saying: life sucks and then you die.
c u n d gulag says:
Ed,
I'm sorry about the loss of your pet.
I don't question anyones choice of pets, from rats to snakes, to spiders, to whatever floats one's boat and is legal. One loves who, and what, one loves.
But, having grown up in NY City, I don't think I'd ever be able to keep a rat as a pet. If you ever a subway rat, you'd understand. You might mistake one for a mean, hairy SUV.
And as for pets like snakes and spiders, I'm not a fan. And for those who do have them, don't ask me if I want to hold or touch them.
No thanks! You love them, you hold and touch them.
I have a rule concerning animals:
I never touch anything with less than 2 legs, or more than 4.
It has served me well.
anotherbozo says:
WHAT: Llive, full-bodied Norwegian rats! Come 'n' get 'em! Smart, savvy, unafraid, healthy appetites.
WHERE: Washington Square Park, or even better, my basement, Noo Yawk City!
HOW MUCH: Totally FREE!
HOW MANY: quantities NOT limited—take a carful! Why settle for pallid white rats when you can have a richly colored gray one? Or two or more!
baldheadeddork says:
So sorry to hear this, Ed.
Tim H. says:
Would it be gauche to suggest naming the next one after a prominent Republican?
Arslan says:
I know how you feel, I remember the day I had to put down my first rat, Templeton. He was survived by his 11 children.
ladiesbane says:
I agree. I think it's a good reason to be kind to humans, too. Anyone can go at any time. Looking out for each other, trying to keep our short lives as pleasant as possible, is important.
Which is one reason I like rats. They're such little humans, in a way. Growing up in the country, we had the same prejudices as the city ("who in hell keeps a pest as a pet?") but they are smart and have such personality. I'd really like to see more Rodent Photo Fridays if possible.
Jacquie says:
Sorry for your loss, Ed. But that's a great pet philosophy you've got there: taking comfort in giving them the best possible lives. Your rats are very lucky to have you.
I'm not a rat-lover myself but I think your last few sentences were brilliant, whether or you a rat, dog, snake, cat, etc. I think it's even a good philosophy to apply to one's own siblings.
Coffeeman says:
When you boil it down, pets supply what humans most desire: to love and be loved in return unconditionally.
Chicagojon says:
No sympathy from me – just admiration at your great expression of what a pet can mean – even if it isn't the family dog that lives 15 years. It's fucking awesome that you're self-aware of your choice of pets and their inevitable death. My parakeet has been with us for over 10 years after she was a psych experiment at a university. She's outlived 2 companions and I've been afraid to get more so as not to be in a cycle of rotating death — but I loved our last bird that died and miss him and think of him fondly but have no regrets for loving him or losing him.
Maybe it's time for more birds…great post.
zach says:
2 years or 20 years, if you never got a pet because it was going to die, you'd never have any pets!
I actually think about this often with my dog. She's been with me for 5 years, which means another 5-6 years of good times followed by 2-3 ailing years. Recognizing that makes it that much more valuable to pay attention to her, as it's easy to get complacent when they've been around so long!
There are no guarantees for anyone. My dog could live another year or two, or die tomorrow. Then again, so could I. It's the now which is so important, something my dog never forgets.
Sarah says:
I don't judge you for keeping rats. Gawd knows I have come across plenty of people who give me the side-eye after finding out that I keep cats, and especially considering the one I have now–who hauled off and bit me on my nose shortly after we met ten years ago.
Andrew says:
Cute rat! Sorry for your loss.
merl says:
I thought pet shop rats were snake food. Sorry about your pet
Condolences on the loss. Like most of us here, I'm decidedly of the "If you love them and they don't eat bypassing toddlers, that's all that matters" crowd.
Now:
Isn't it time for you to make the leap and get yourself a Gambian Pouched Rat? Or two?
Ellie says:
Aww, cute rat!
I'm sorry for your loss. As someone who found this site because of the last pet rat post and then stayed for the snarky political analysis (as opposed to the other way around), I can say, in all sincerity, that I understand. They are awesme pets and they have way-too-short lives.
By the way, love the names. I had a Great Aunt Viola and she's actually in line for getting a pet named in her honor – haven't decided which species yet.
Rats are extremely friendly, smart, and social, and make awesome pets.
I had a long-evans hooded when I was in grad school. One holiday season I had bought my girlfriend a new terry-cloth bathrobe. She left school for home a day earlier than I did, and that night I was sitting on the couch wearing her new robe with the pet rat on my shoulder reading. I fell asleep. When I woke up a few hours later, the entire fucken robe was unravelled and assembled into an awesome nest with the happy rat sitting all smug right in the middle of it.
Jimbo says:
Ed – I'm sorry for your loss, but I echo others, your last sentence was lovely.
chautauqua says:
CPP – the rat could read too? Impressive.
Elder Futhark says:
Beleive it or not, my condolences. I've found rats to be smart and playful. And very tasty. (SE Asia thing).
Wife left you. Rat died on you. Go get drunk. A C&W song there at the very least.
Arslan says:
Rats definitely are among the greatest pets to have. Unlike some rodents like rabbits, they aren't shy at all, they never bite, and they are highly intelligent. Also unlike rabbits they don't shit every two seconds. I used to walk around with Templeton riding on my shoulder like a parrot. He also had a big interest in cats. He was curious about them and due to his size those cowardly cats would run. He would give chase. Almost like Itchy and Scratchy in real life.
Amy K says:
Ed, you are such a smart, funny, rat-lovin' sweetie. You deserve to be with someone who adores you — please don't settle for less.
Erin H says:
My condolences on the death of a loved one. I used to keep mice, and they're the most amazing pets ever -smart, clean, and interesting. I'm sure rats are the same.
My condolences, to you and MBL. I'm sorry to hear about Viola's passing.
MG says:
I started reading this skeptical of sentiment about a pet rat and ended it–in your fine last lines–remembering a vigil with my younger daughter's gerbil Elsa as she quivered toward death–my daughter was six at the time and we had had the gerbil for a year–and how the final stillness, which was my daughter's first knowledge of death, seemed profoundly tragic to me–partly in her keening understanding of what had happened, and more so in my own sense of how powerless I had been to prevent it.
g says:
So sorry about the loss of your beloved pet.
I am not a rat lover, but I can sympathize with your loss. The fact is, when love happens, loss is universally tragic.
Nunya says:
Godspeed to Viola. Thanks for taking the best care of her that you could.
mothra says:
Oh, I am sorry. It totally sucks to lose someone you love. No matter who that someone was.
My only two encounters with rats were a)in the Psych lab, where I felt VERY sad about the poor rats they had us doing the stupid Pavlov tests on; and b) in NYC, on the corner of 7th Ave. and 14th St. I was waiting to cross 7th from east to west and I noticed what I thought was a dog up on its hind legs inspecting an NYC trash can. The light turned in my favor and I crossed and as I got closer, I realized that was no dog looking into the trash can, but a BIG ASS RAT. I paid no attention to Mr. Rat and he (she?) in turn paid no attention to me. However, I have to say that was the only thing I have ever seen in NYC that surprised me.
Sharkbabe says:
There's no way around the sadness, but congrats to both you and Viola for your excellent time together.
Everybody should experience the coolness of a good rat pal. They are so sweet and personable and intelligent.
Desargues says:
I'm real sorry about your pet's death, Ed. I'm sure that, through whatever flicker of awareness they have, they too know you wanted them to have a good life, and they're grateful for that.
I don't know where you find the strength to keep saying the right things in these moments. If one of my pets died, I'd be inconsolable for a good long time.
Andrew Burton says:
Sorry to hear this.
I don't know if this will help you and others who bury their pets (I've had two cats literally die in my arms as I held them). It's by Kinky Friedman:
E P I L O G U E
On January 4, 1993, the cat in this book and the books that preceded it was put to sleep in Kerrville, Texas, by Dr. W.H. Hoegemeyer and myself. Cuddles was fourteen years old, a respectable age. She was as close to me as any human being I have ever known.
Cuddles and I spent many years together, both in New York, where I first found her as a little kitten on the street in Chinatown, and later on the ranch in Texas. She was always with me, on the table, on the bed, by the fireplace, beside the typewriter, on top of my suitcase when I returned from a trip.
I dug Cuddles' grave with a silver spade, in the little garden by the stream behind the old green trailer where both of us lived in the summertime. Her burial shroud was my old New York sweatshirt and in the grave with her is a can of tuna and a cigar
A few days ago I received a sympathy note from Bill Hoegemeyer, the veterinarian. It opened with a verse by Irving Townsend: "We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle ……
Now, as I write this, on a gray winter day by the fireside, I can almost feel her light tread, moving from my head and my heart down through my fingertips to the keys of the typewriter People may surprise you with unexpected kindness. Dogs have a depth of loyalty that often we seem unworthy of. But the love of a cat is a blessing, a privilege in this world.
They say when you die and go to heaven all the dogs and cats you've ever had in your life come running to meet you.
I had rats for pets as a child. They are wonderful pets, affectionate, personable, full of life. I'm sorry for your loss. Thannk you for making so many rats happy.
Rats are awesome. My wife developed an allergy to them, so when the last of our boys passed away, we moved on to dachshunds, since they are the only dogs that can match the stubbornness and relentless curiosity of a pet rat.
Black_Rose says:
Frank Viola!
Peggy says:
I'm so sorry for your loss, Ed. I'm glad you can take comfort in having given her a hell of a rat life. I think your philosophy of pet ownership is right on an could also do a lot for the world in generalif more people could behave that way even just to pets.
AK says:
I am sorry about your rat, it looks like a most excellent rat. I had pet rats when I was a kid. We'd get really attached to them. They're just as personable as cats or other such long-lived pets, but the lifespan is so short. It became too much grief for us at a certain point.
Now my parents just have a friendly tortoise that will outlive us all.
Middle Seaman says:
Saw a twitt from @EdsRatViola saying: life sucks and then you die.
c u n d gulag says:
Ed,
I'm sorry about the loss of your pet.
I don't question anyones choice of pets, from rats to snakes, to spiders, to whatever floats one's boat and is legal. One loves who, and what, one loves.
But, having grown up in NY City, I don't think I'd ever be able to keep a rat as a pet. If you ever a subway rat, you'd understand. You might mistake one for a mean, hairy SUV.
And as for pets like snakes and spiders, I'm not a fan. And for those who do have them, don't ask me if I want to hold or touch them.
No thanks! You love them, you hold and touch them.
I have a rule concerning animals:
I never touch anything with less than 2 legs, or more than 4.
It has served me well.
anotherbozo says:
WHAT: Llive, full-bodied Norwegian rats! Come 'n' get 'em! Smart, savvy, unafraid, healthy appetites.
WHERE: Washington Square Park, or even better, my basement, Noo Yawk City!
HOW MUCH: Totally FREE!
HOW MANY: quantities NOT limited—take a carful! Why settle for pallid white rats when you can have a richly colored gray one? Or two or more!
baldheadeddork says:
So sorry to hear this, Ed.
Tim H. says:
Would it be gauche to suggest naming the next one after a prominent Republican?
Arslan says:
I know how you feel, I remember the day I had to put down my first rat, Templeton. He was survived by his 11 children.
ladiesbane says:
I agree. I think it's a good reason to be kind to humans, too. Anyone can go at any time. Looking out for each other, trying to keep our short lives as pleasant as possible, is important.
Which is one reason I like rats. They're such little humans, in a way. Growing up in the country, we had the same prejudices as the city ("who in hell keeps a pest as a pet?") but they are smart and have such personality. I'd really like to see more Rodent Photo Fridays if possible.
Jacquie says:
Sorry for your loss, Ed. But that's a great pet philosophy you've got there: taking comfort in giving them the best possible lives. Your rats are very lucky to have you.
Ravi M. Singh says:
I'm not a rat-lover myself but I think your last few sentences were brilliant, whether or you a rat, dog, snake, cat, etc. I think it's even a good philosophy to apply to one's own siblings.
Coffeeman says:
When you boil it down, pets supply what humans most desire: to love and be loved in return unconditionally.
Chicagojon says:
No sympathy from me – just admiration at your great expression of what a pet can mean – even if it isn't the family dog that lives 15 years. It's fucking awesome that you're self-aware of your choice of pets and their inevitable death. My parakeet has been with us for over 10 years after she was a psych experiment at a university. She's outlived 2 companions and I've been afraid to get more so as not to be in a cycle of rotating death — but I loved our last bird that died and miss him and think of him fondly but have no regrets for loving him or losing him.
Maybe it's time for more birds…great post.
zach says:
2 years or 20 years, if you never got a pet because it was going to die, you'd never have any pets!
I actually think about this often with my dog. She's been with me for 5 years, which means another 5-6 years of good times followed by 2-3 ailing years. Recognizing that makes it that much more valuable to pay attention to her, as it's easy to get complacent when they've been around so long!
Personal Failure says:
I'm sorry about your friend.
There are no guarantees for anyone. My dog could live another year or two, or die tomorrow. Then again, so could I. It's the now which is so important, something my dog never forgets.
Sarah says:
I don't judge you for keeping rats. Gawd knows I have come across plenty of people who give me the side-eye after finding out that I keep cats, and especially considering the one I have now–who hauled off and bit me on my nose shortly after we met ten years ago.
Andrew says:
Cute rat! Sorry for your loss.
merl says:
I thought pet shop rats were snake food. Sorry about your pet
J. Dryden says:
Condolences on the loss. Like most of us here, I'm decidedly of the "If you love them and they don't eat bypassing toddlers, that's all that matters" crowd.
Now:
Isn't it time for you to make the leap and get yourself a Gambian Pouched Rat? Or two?
Ellie says:
Aww, cute rat!
I'm sorry for your loss. As someone who found this site because of the last pet rat post and then stayed for the snarky political analysis (as opposed to the other way around), I can say, in all sincerity, that I understand. They are awesme pets and they have way-too-short lives.
By the way, love the names. I had a Great Aunt Viola and she's actually in line for getting a pet named in her honor – haven't decided which species yet.
Think I'll go hug a rat now.
Comrade PhysioProf says:
Rats are extremely friendly, smart, and social, and make awesome pets.
I had a long-evans hooded when I was in grad school. One holiday season I had bought my girlfriend a new terry-cloth bathrobe. She left school for home a day earlier than I did, and that night I was sitting on the couch wearing her new robe with the pet rat on my shoulder reading. I fell asleep. When I woke up a few hours later, the entire fucken robe was unravelled and assembled into an awesome nest with the happy rat sitting all smug right in the middle of it.
Jimbo says:
Ed – I'm sorry for your loss, but I echo others, your last sentence was lovely.
chautauqua says:
CPP – the rat could read too? Impressive.
Elder Futhark says:
Beleive it or not, my condolences. I've found rats to be smart and playful. And very tasty. (SE Asia thing).
Wife left you. Rat died on you. Go get drunk. A C&W song there at the very least.
Arslan says:
Rats definitely are among the greatest pets to have. Unlike some rodents like rabbits, they aren't shy at all, they never bite, and they are highly intelligent. Also unlike rabbits they don't shit every two seconds. I used to walk around with Templeton riding on my shoulder like a parrot. He also had a big interest in cats. He was curious about them and due to his size those cowardly cats would run. He would give chase. Almost like Itchy and Scratchy in real life.
Amy K says:
Ed, you are such a smart, funny, rat-lovin' sweetie. You deserve to be with someone who adores you — please don't settle for less.
Erin H says:
My condolences on the death of a loved one. I used to keep mice, and they're the most amazing pets ever -smart, clean, and interesting. I'm sure rats are the same.
j says:
Get Olivia some rapamycin.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19587680
Nate says:
My condolences, to you and MBL. I'm sorry to hear about Viola's passing.
MG says:
I started reading this skeptical of sentiment about a pet rat and ended it–in your fine last lines–remembering a vigil with my younger daughter's gerbil Elsa as she quivered toward death–my daughter was six at the time and we had had the gerbil for a year–and how the final stillness, which was my daughter's first knowledge of death, seemed profoundly tragic to me–partly in her keening understanding of what had happened, and more so in my own sense of how powerless I had been to prevent it.
g says:
So sorry about the loss of your beloved pet.
I am not a rat lover, but I can sympathize with your loss. The fact is, when love happens, loss is universally tragic.
Nunya says:
Godspeed to Viola. Thanks for taking the best care of her that you could.
mothra says:
Oh, I am sorry. It totally sucks to lose someone you love. No matter who that someone was.
My only two encounters with rats were a)in the Psych lab, where I felt VERY sad about the poor rats they had us doing the stupid Pavlov tests on; and b) in NYC, on the corner of 7th Ave. and 14th St. I was waiting to cross 7th from east to west and I noticed what I thought was a dog up on its hind legs inspecting an NYC trash can. The light turned in my favor and I crossed and as I got closer, I realized that was no dog looking into the trash can, but a BIG ASS RAT. I paid no attention to Mr. Rat and he (she?) in turn paid no attention to me. However, I have to say that was the only thing I have ever seen in NYC that surprised me.
Sharkbabe says:
There's no way around the sadness, but congrats to both you and Viola for your excellent time together.
Everybody should experience the coolness of a good rat pal. They are so sweet and personable and intelligent.
Desargues says:
I'm real sorry about your pet's death, Ed. I'm sure that, through whatever flicker of awareness they have, they too know you wanted them to have a good life, and they're grateful for that.
I don't know where you find the strength to keep saying the right things in these moments. If one of my pets died, I'd be inconsolable for a good long time.
Andrew Burton says:
Sorry to hear this.
I don't know if this will help you and others who bury their pets (I've had two cats literally die in my arms as I held them). It's by Kinky Friedman:
E P I L O G U E
On January 4, 1993, the cat in this book and the books that preceded it was put to sleep in Kerrville, Texas, by Dr. W.H. Hoegemeyer and myself. Cuddles was fourteen years old, a respectable age. She was as close to me as any human being I have ever known.
Cuddles and I spent many years together, both in New York, where I first found her as a little kitten on the street in Chinatown, and later on the ranch in Texas. She was always with me, on the table, on the bed, by the fireplace, beside the typewriter, on top of my suitcase when I returned from a trip.
I dug Cuddles' grave with a silver spade, in the little garden by the stream behind the old green trailer where both of us lived in the summertime. Her burial shroud was my old New York sweatshirt and in the grave with her is a can of tuna and a cigar
A few days ago I received a sympathy note from Bill Hoegemeyer, the veterinarian. It opened with a verse by Irving Townsend: "We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle ……
Now, as I write this, on a gray winter day by the fireside, I can almost feel her light tread, moving from my head and my heart down through my fingertips to the keys of the typewriter People may surprise you with unexpected kindness. Dogs have a depth of loyalty that often we seem unworthy of. But the love of a cat is a blessing, a privilege in this world.
They say when you die and go to heaven all the dogs and cats you've ever had in your life come running to meet you.
Until that day, rest in peace, Cuddles.
http://www.utopiarescue.com/epilogue.htm
wonkie says:
I had rats for pets as a child. They are wonderful pets, affectionate, personable, full of life. I'm sorry for your loss. Thannk you for making so many rats happy.
sinned34 says:
Rats are awesome. My wife developed an allergy to them, so when the last of our boys passed away, we moved on to dachshunds, since they are the only dogs that can match the stubbornness and relentless curiosity of a pet rat.