My Animal Family

I’d like y’all to meet my animal family. (By the way, all of our current pets are adopted)

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This is Vinny– the sweetest rat you will ever meet, despite his gangster name.

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Twiggy and Robin– the other two little rats. (Twiggy is the one with the red eye– she has allergies. and Robin is the dumbo-ear)

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This is Ginger– age 5 (as of June 2010). She only looks sweet on the outside.

“I will eat you!” or at least yawn in your face!

She is a gorgeous soul inside and out.

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Meet the degus in the house: Artemis, Jessie, and Cesar

“Awww… dust baths rock!”

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Now meet the bunnies, all siblings, born in April 2009

Nancy, Lizzie, and Smidge (the white one)

Bunny love

“Is this close enough??” yes, Smidge, that’s close enough. It’s a close up photo, not a nose shot.

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Since I started this blog in June 2009, we have lost pets. I wanted to give them a little memorial here.

This was Jingle. He was a handsome, muscled cat, but a softie at heart. He was a profoundly amazing kitty, and was such a love with my family. As you can see, my little sister could dress him up like a king, snap photos, and he would still look on contentedly! He died at age seven in 2009 from a coyote attack.

This was Pepper Junior, nicknamed PJ. Read her full obituary here. PJ was Vi’s sister- and she passed last November (2009) due to uterine cancer. We never knew how important it was to spay rats, and once PJ died, we immediately got Vi spayed. PJ was so amazing– a rat with spunk, spark, silliness, and spirit. We love and miss her.

This is Violet Caterwaul (known through her life as Vi and Violet). Sister to PJ (above), and born April 14, 2008, she was such a presence in the world. She died July 15 in her sleep due to unknown causes– she had lost most motor function and was almost completely unable to eat or drink. Until the very end, however, she continued to be the lifelong sweetheart we knew her to be. She was unlike any other rat I’ve ever met, with an outlook on life and a deep connection with my family that truly shows the social and intellectual capacities of these rodents.

Junior was a truly inspiring little rat. I met her at the local science center when I started volunteering there in late 2009, and though she insisted on biting me all the time, I persisted and finally earned her trust and respect. We were best of friends until the very end. We had a relationship I didn’t think could be possible with such a small animal. You can read more about Junior here.