omgwtf!

Meet the new boys I just got a couple of days ago from a massive rescue operation out in Ojai, California:

Yarrow Rat – masked (imperfect masked colouration because of the patches over his ears, which I think make him a million times more awesome); black-eyed white variety. He’s the boss of the new boys (except when Bayberry is around) but tends to forget this and acts very silly as often as possible.

Laurel Rat – American blue berkshire (He could be a Russian blue variety, but I’m not sure). Rats who have a gray colouration are known as “blue rats.” I LOVE BLUE RATS. When he’s not being timid and staring at me from a corner (he subscribes to the “if I freeze she won’t be able to see me, even if I’m totally out in the open” school of thought), he’s practically shoving himself up my nose in order to get me to pet him for 17 hours in a row. A rattie dichotomy!

Liquorice – the youngest boy. Closest I come to describing his markings are as a variegated black berkshire. This is a little brat and full of energy and mischief. His eyes sparkle like little chips of black diamonds.

Berkshire rats have white bellies and colour on top with a clear line delineating; masked rats have colour only over their eyes. So since Laurel’s white belly comes up just a little more than it should, Liquorice is variegated, and Yarrow has black ear patches, all three of them are just plain mutts! And thems me favourite breed of all. Mutts FTW! Being a mutt myself, I’m probably a little biased.

Three awesome, beautiful new boys who are totally cool with being handled. Yarrow was apparently picked up right off the sidewalk outside this woman’s home. There are several hundred of these rats who have already been rescued, and every one of them I’ve seen so far have easily the most beautiful markings of any rescue rats I’ve ever seen. In fact, everyone involved in this rescue (the rescuers, the fosters, and the forever homes) are all saying the same thing, as well. Almost all the rats are extremely friendly, and thankfully a good number of them have either found homes, are in foster care, or are bound for a rat train to a forever home as soon as quarantine is up.

I owe Debbie from Secondhand Rats a huge debt of gratitude for rescuing these boys, her friends Ken and Connie for fostering them, and Ken for providing the rat train ride to get them to my house (citing my ongoing transportation problems, which seem diabolical in their intent to prevent me from having a decent car out here). Now my beautiful Bayberry has companions again, which has made him very happy after spending some lonely, sad weeks all alone and grieving for Ginger, Holly, and especially Lotus.

My little Lotus…

Thanks most especially to my rat guru, Diane, for all the help she has given me in the past, for her unending patience and overflowing spring of good advice and encouragement, and for telling me about this rescue. She is the kind of human being every furkid in the world should have as their mom, and I am lucky and honoured and grateful that she is my friend.

All three of these little monsters are settling in fine, eating me out of house and home, and rapidly becoming hideously spoiled. I love them all madly.

Say hello, everybody!