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Candy(curious)

Spice(ignoring me)

Bubblegum(eager)

Science(gentle love)

They all let me get pictures. The order got reversed for posting, Science started the photo series.

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Is the defendant, Nelson Rattaganz, guilty of eating the only blackberry and not letting his brothers share?

Exhibit a) testimony from his brothers, Ghal Maraz, and Placenta Rattaganz

Placenta: “squee squeak squee SQUEE”

Ghal Maraz: Squee squee squick squeak!

Exhibit b)

The perpetrator has been caught red handed and mouthed! His face and hands are clearly covered in the berry’s juice!!

At first I considered a guilty verdict but the testimony from the brothers, Placenta Rattaganz and Ghal Maraz has moved this court. My heart goes out to these young men.........I don't usually tear up during trial, sorry.

Verdict: Not Guilty. Nelson, I just wanted to say your brothers have beautiful souls. To forgive you for eating the only blackberry is truly an act of rat compassion. The brothers mentioned that it was unfair for them to not have their own blackberries. How the system let them down. The court agrees. I cannot legally order you to each get a black berry in this case, as you're not defendants. Instead I would like to order the defendant, Nelson Rattaganz gets a berry for each sibling (next time it's berry day). I believe he will be sharing this time based off his apology.

I would like to enter into records the apology of Mr. N Rattaganz: squee squee squee. Squeak squea squee squee.

To all three of you....thank you for reminding this court about compassion.

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Unfortunately my sweet Bella has died today. Last Thursday I thought I saw evidence of a tooth abscess. By the next morning her face was swelling. The earliest appointment wasn't until today, Tuesday.

More info under the read more. Be aware, it's somewhat graphic, and includes extreme eye trauma. However, it highlights a problem I never knew could happen until last year

With approval from the rescue, I placed Bella on SMZ/TMS antibiotic and increased her Metacam for pain relief. I also asked the Vet to advise on dosage for the antibiotic.

By Saturday Bella's eye was showing signs of bulging. I called the Vet again to update them and also to get that dosage. I discovered they had meant to ask for pictures and forgot to text me. The exotics vet wouldn't be back until Monday.

I still took pictures and sent a request for info into the text line that Vet Techs see. By Sunday morning I was getting really worried and called to see if they had any openings due to cancellations. I didn't score anything.

Sunday afternoon I found her eye had mild pus discharge and she was in incredible pain. I also received a text saying no exotics Vet would be in until Tuesday and that if an emergency developed or her eye swelled shut I needed to go to a Veterinary ER. Given her pain level, I was already heading to one.

Warning, real eye trauma described from here on out.

Long story short, they said it was likely being caused by a mass behind her eye. The lump I previously identified as a likely tooth abscess was actually pooling pus flowing to her jaw from her eye. The ER vet let me know Bella's eye would probably pop out, which would be an emergency and I'd need to bring her back at that point. Otherwise, they have me new antibiotics and gabapentin to start in two days.

By Monday the rescue and I agreed, we wouldn't wait on the gabapentin. I'm very thankful we didn't, because her pain levels dropped to near nothing after one dose of gabapentin.

She lost her left eye sight Monday morning. Her eye began to grey and by the evening I believe it was becoming necrotic.

This morning I called the Vet and begged them to let me just show up and be a standby. I explained that the ER would not operate to remove her eye unless it popped out and that this was awful for her. They understood and agreed. Although it was a few hours until I could get there given rush hour and transportation, they saw me relatively quickly. By this time pus was coming out from her eye and she smelled rotten. I've smelled many infections, but she smelled like rotten food.

At this point it was clear for many reasons that she needed to be euthanized. Although the gabapentin stopped her from feeling pain for at least 6 hours, it's effects couldn't quite keep up. Even with an eye removal, which was risky at her age, her prognosis was terrible. There also wasn't any chance of surgical removal until Monday.

The Vet gave her a sedative and let her spend her last conscious moments with me. Normally I stay for euthanasia, but a variety of circumstances kept this from happening today

Nearly exactly a year ago I had a similar event occur with another rat. Basil had appeared to have pink eye, then overnight her eye began bulging. I was able to get an appointment within a day. By that point it was clear a mass was growing behind her eye and there was no good path forward except euthanasia.

Oddly, my medical coordinator at the rescue lost a rat to the exact same issue last month. Until last year I had never heard of such a thing. Neither had the medical coordinator. I have adopted and fostered around 65 rats over my life.

This whole experience was traumatic for Bella, of course, and exhausting for me. I spent so much energy trying to get anyone to actively do something for her. No Vet or facility is at fault here. It was a complicated issue that couldn't have been solved even with surgery. The ER vet was wrong to not get her on gabapentin immediately for pain relief, but they are usually dealing with larger and longer lived animals. Finding vets that truly know rats can be hard and few ERs have them on hand. The ER vets try their best best and often save lives doing it.

There's a great deal more I'd love to share, because not following Vet advice saved Bella from a lot of pain, plus advocating and tireless communicating but her seen sooner. But in the end, she's still gone. I'm still without my little love sponge.

Bella soaked in love like it was life essence. She was so beautiful, and I only got to know her for 2 months. I miss her and I'm so sad to have lost her so young(2 years and 1 month) and so traumatically.

I hope she is with her sister. Bella came to me shortly after her sister died, leaving her in need of companionship.

I love you Bella. I miss you.

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iCE are a bunch of illegal and unconstitutional thugs who have been mistreating human beings, including American citizens and children, for as long as they've existed. They are simply more empowered and evil now.

Remember, ICE detention centers make private companies loads of money, more than a 1.5 billion a year. It pays good money to arrest and detain good people, keep them from lawyers, and over crowd and mistreat them. Again, that's not new, just worse than ever.

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I love Bitewing so much!

Made a post hours ago about Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon's children through the universes and forgot to add their only and canon current baby...

Haley!!!🤭🩵

See she's got her father's eyes

Loves her parents a lot

But Haley...

Is clearly a Mama's Girl🙏

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Tumblr may have lost the updated version I just spent time writing. Not sure when or if I'll finish this post. It was emotional to write and edit. Not totally Tumblr's fault, but partially it is.

This evening as I was cleaning I found some fur clippings of rats who I've lost. It got me thinking about those two gorgeous ladies and the dear loves they were.

This thin but gorgeous girl on the upper right was Minnie. Her sister Belle is the mass to let, v and her daughter Luna is below.

Minnie also came with her daughter Daisy and her senior cagemate Smoke

Here's Smoke, already putting on weight after I got her.

Their story and a few more pics below the read more. Be prepared for animal neglect, rat medical issues, and both timely and untimely death, but also lots of love and joy.

The five beautiful and sweet girls were surrendered because their adopter had been sick for months and was unable to care for them. Her husband/boyfriend was supposed to be taking care of them.

Unfortunately they were extremely thin and underfed. The youngest girls were just barely a healthy weight. Since they were non-dominant, I assume their Mom and Aunt were giving them their food. Smoke was so small her hips jutted out almost painfully. I remember Belle had a tumor, but I think one of the others did too.

All five rats were so deeply friendly that the moment I opened the carrier they closed out with kisses and affection. Minute was the last to come out, and as she went right up to my face for kisses I got a string whiff of infection. I assumed I smelled s tooth abscess, but soon figured out she had an overgrown lower tooth pushing into he

Tumblr may have lost the updated version I just spent time writing. Not sure when it if I'll finish this post. It was emotional to write. Still cute pictures and start of stories.

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When I was in elementary school, I think 4th grade, I realized how absolutely awful it was that I was being forced to pray in school. Don't ever tell me that the pledge of allegiance isn't prayer with it's references to a Christian deity. And never try to tell me it means any other deity, even though some "founding fathers" were agnostic.

So I said no. I said I was okay pledging to my country(I was more patriotic back then), but that separation of Church and State was both the law, basic ethics and really important. This caused less problems than when I refused to sing"Silent Night" in music class, but still caused a stir.

My parent were proud, but suggested I just don't say the words and not make a big deal.

It wasn't right. It still isn't right. It isn't right to force Christians to sing about Jesus, or praise a country in their deity's name, and it's morally and ethically sick to bully non- christian children into it.

It also isn't right to force the large number of people who aren't protected by this country to pledge to it's flag. It isn't right to ask for blind allegiance from grade schoolers. It isn't right to claim this is a free country while brainwashing kids.

So feel free to sit, hum a little ditty, and generally sit against this archaic rule in the name of standing against the above problems. Also feel free to sit proudly against attempts to impose tyranny, destroy opportunities, erase history, create false (WHITE) nationalism, disenfranchise most of the country, and worse.

Sometimes standing for what you believe in can mean sitting, or taking a knee(which was meant respectfully, BTW, not that extremists care) or by being silent to be loud.

But also, if the pressure of a room of peers directed at you is too much, I get it. I was bullied, thankfully not terribly, for my silence. Not every teacher was on my side. Students were mostly too young to understand my reasoning. It's not easy to stand out that way.

I guess that was a long and slightly roundabout way of saying that I agree wholeheartedly.

Also, I wrote this quickly and emotionally, so sorry for major errors and accidental omissions.

dear usamerican high schoolers looking for a way to resist fascism: sit through the pledge of allegiance.

no getting up. no looking at the flag.

everyone will be looking at you. you'll be sweating like a fucking hippopotamus. your teacher will sternly tell you to get up. you'll feel stupid and that maybe its not worth it because you're just a kid in a classroom. but I'm here to remind you that there are no real life consequences to detention. there are however real life consequences to resisting a thoughtless performance of nationalism.

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This was her yummy birthday treat. Frozen banana mush, chocolate, and a crunchy bear treat.

It was thoroughly ignored. She was interested in the bed, the fleece, the little medical cage I moved her into, everything but the treat!

She proved herself a rat, through and through.

The other rats loved the treat, Candy and Spice especially.

Love you Bella!

This cutie, Bella, turned 2 this week! Technically it's an estimate, so celebrating can take as many days as I like. I have a special treat mostly ready for her, and I will try to get pictures of her enjoying it.

On a side note, I mentioned to one of the coordinators at the rescue that everyone loves Crunchy Bears small animal treats. I give them about 2 pieces a day and they are adored. She had sent a pack in a care package with Bella.

Less than 3 days after I mentioned this, I got a delivery of 5 more bags of Crunchy Bears. I haven't gotten confirmation, but I think it's from the same medical coordinator at the rescue! She's just amazing, everyone at the rescue really is.

I've been sent extra hammocks, small memorabilia to remember lost rats, artwork, and the most thoughtful notes and cards you can imagine. They reach out regularly to check on how I am doing, and to express such kind words and thoughts. I have a huge back log of thank you notes to send out.

Happy birthday Bella!!!!

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This cutie, Bella, turned 2 this week! Technically it's an estimate, so celebrating can take as many days as I like. I have a special treat mostly ready for her, and I will try to get pictures of her enjoying it.

On a side note, I mentioned to one of the coordinators at the rescue that everyone loves Crunchy Bears small animal treats. I give them about 2 pieces a day and they are adored. She had sent a pack in a care package with Bella.

Less than 3 days after I mentioned this, I got a delivery of 5 more bags of Crunchy Bears. I haven't gotten confirmation, but I think it's from the same medical coordinator at the rescue! She's just amazing, everyone at the rescue really is.

I've been sent extra hammocks, small memorabilia to remember lost rats, artwork, and the most thoughtful notes and cards you can imagine. They reach out regularly to check on how I am doing, and to express such kind words and thoughts. I have a huge back log of thank you notes to send out.

Happy birthday Bella!!!!

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Rats love getting things. They will take almost anything, and it's totally adorable. It makes them so happy too!

Cute gif op too.

Kiwi Mouse gets a flower 💐❤️

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Wow, this video got two,now three of my rats very, very excited and interested!

Here's Bubblegum going"What???"

And even another rat is acting questioning. I wonder if there's more to the vocalization at levels harder to hear but that still are in the playback?

I think the video is adorable!

Ever the conversationalist

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Look at that cutie peaking out. Love this!

I also love the "Wiggle Butt" green tag. I don't know if it references anything in particular, but I've known many dogs and rats that deserve the nickname, so that's what I think of.

RAT PIC

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Here's Bella again! This sweet lady has her first Vet appointment with me scheduled for next week. She has a lot of HLD issues, weakness and reduced mobility. She manages well, and I've started home grown PT to help, but I'd like to be sure I'm doing the best for her.

She also produces a bit too much porphyrin for my preference, so I want to be sure I'm not missing more pain, dosage on Metacam or hidden upper respiratory issues. Her energy is really low too.

Honestly, the sweetheart acts more like a squishy old male rat than anything else. I'm in love with her, and if she's mostly healthy then I'm happy to have a cuddle bear rat.

This evening these two, Science on the left Candy on the right, looked too adorable to pass up a picture. Look how soft and relaxed they are. Considering their history of behavior problems, I'd say all is very well here.

Candy has been asking for more and more attention and affection. I don't know if she's quite figured out how much she melts my heart, but I'm sure she'll figure it out soon.

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Being Pro-Palestinian and anti war isn't being pro Hamas or pro terrorism. But Trump and his government doesn't make that distinction and clearly chooses to group them together.

Having an opinion and voicing it is supposed to be what the United States values, both in citizens and in immigrants.

Regardless of my own opinions, which are too complicated to get into, there should be no legal repercussions for writing articles and demonstrating against war in a legal and peaceful manner.

If ICE had a legal ground to stand on, why didn't they work with the actual police? Why did they kidnap her with masks covering their face and pretending to be police? They repeatedly call themselves police in the video, which they aren't.

PSA Boston and Somerville

Rumeysa Ozturk, an international student at Tufts University, was arrested on the street by "federal authorities" out of uniform.

She was in the U.S. on a valid student visa, and as of this writing, her lawyer does not know where she is being held. EDIT: Update to add that her lawyer has since been told by government counsel that Rumeysa was sent to Louisiana.

Mahsa Khanbabai, Ozturk's attorney, told Salon that her client has a valid F-1 student visa and was "heading to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast" when she was detained by DHS agents outside her home. "We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against [her] that we are aware of," Khanbabai said in a statement. In a statement to Salon, a Trump administration spokesperson asserted, without providing evidence, that "DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas." The spokesperson did not suggest Ozturk had committed any crime, and confirmed that she had permission to be in the U.S. as a foreign student, but said that a "visa is a privilege, not a right."

Last year, Ozturk coauthored an op-ed in The Tufts Daily calling for divestment from the genocide in Palestine.

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2 of these girls look so much like 2 of my recent fosters. Spice and her sister Sugar have great doppelgangers here. Unfortunately Sugar is no longer alive, but Spice is and still has lots of variegated goodness.

Yay for all the baby rat cuteness!

30 seconds of baby mayhem

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I am a sanctuary rat foster for a small animal rescue. This is the best and most important part of my life, so I figure I should explain it a bit and then pin it up so everyone knows, and can see cute rats.

This was Charles. I fostered Charles for nearly 3 years. His story is one that keeps me going when I experience too much loss or hardship with fostering.

Another rescue group had Charles and a few other male rats housed in one of their many facilities. I want to be clear, I respect that rescue a great deal, but they didn't know enough about rats. These boys were very aggressive and their Vet suggested euthanasia. Thankfully one of the wonderful volunteers with that organization thought of the rescue I work with, and those boys all came to us instead of dying.

The rest of Charles' story, more on fostering, and more rat pics below the cut.

These boys needed to be neutered. Almost immediately the other four boys calmed down, started socializing and went up for adoption.

Charles was a bit tougher. He continued to bite and was quite aggressive when placed within even 6 feet of other rats. His foster mom had some house related issues, so he was transferred to me. I was warned he might not ever socialize, though the coordinators at the rescue were pretty sure I'd manage to help Charles.

I'll admit, he was a tough cookie I got bit daily and he went full bull mode if I moved his cage anywhere near the other rats. But there was also this look he gave, like he wanted to trust me, and he wanted affection. I'd have kept trying no matter what, but those sweet, hopefully looks really spurred me on.

It took only a few months to get him to mostly stop biting, and to accept other rats. He usually kept an edge to him, and it was another year or two before he'd allow strangers to greet him, but he became a really happy and spoiled rat.

Charles would not have lived past his first year without being rescued properly. Having a rescue that focuses on rats and having multiple fosters who can handle more problematic rats is what gave him years of happiness and life. He was such a sweet curmudgeon. In his last year I received regular requests to bring him to visit at the Vet, so staff could see him. I still miss him. . .

I miss a lot of rats. I have fostered around 50 rats in the past 6 years. All have had sanctuary status, and they have lived anywhere from 3 days to 3 years with me. Some have come to me terminally ill, very old or very traumatized.

Here's French Fry, Teddie and Maize. Teddie and Maize had serious tumors, French Fry was a seriously traumatized rat who took a lot of work to feel safe and loved, though eventually he really did. He was my longest lived rat, reaching over 3 years and 10 months!

French Fry and I learned to communicate really well with each other. As an example, when his hind legs got too weak, he knew how to get me to help him go up or down the ramp. He also loved staying in a smaller cage on his own for anywhere from a few hours to days at a time in his last months. He'd just let me know where he wanted to go, little personal home or the bigger main cage with everyone else. I think he loved both his personal space, but also adored his home of years and most of the girls that inhabited it. He only ever hated one other rat, but that's a whole story in itself.

This was Christie. Unfortunately this picture is from her last day. She developed blockage from a tumor in her digestive tract. She was thrilled to have access to ask this amazing kale and carrot yumminess, but had mostly lost her appetite. But she enjoyed having her hoard of greens and getting lots of love.

Here's Smoke and Belle. These girls came directly from their adopter, who was no longer able to care for them. I miss that whole family group. In this picture, Belle had just finished chewing through the belt loop on my dad's pants while we waited at a Vet appointment. She was an energetic trouble maker. Smoke was a sweet old lady without an ounce of mischief in her. She's looking lovingly up at my Dad.

Sugar, Miso, Echo, Oreo, Harley all wonderful rats. Harley was very ill with heart disease when I got him, but passed as peacefully as possible in my arms after I had him for 2 months. Miso had a pituitary tumor and double inner ear infection. There has been recommendation to euthanize, but treating for ear infection gave him another 3 amazing months and he died peacefully in a hammock in a sleepy pile of rats who loved him. Echo was one of my dearest buddy rats. She was full of energy, love and life until her last month, when it whittled down to lots of love. Sugar was a beautiful and sweet rat, and tolerant companion to her crazy sister Spice.

At least 4 of the rats pictured above would have died months or years earlier without rescue. Saving them might not have changed the world, but it changed their world completely. I hold that in my heart after every loss so that I can take in the next rat. It's really easy to burn out doing this.

Rats really only live 2 1/2 years, occasionally less and even more rarely up to 5 years. I have met so many adopters and fosters who just can't keep doing it. I am often tempted to join them in this. It's heartbreaking, I'm actually crying as I write this part. I miss every rat I've known. I also love them all, and I intend to persevere as long as I can do so in a way that's safe for me and them.

If anyone reading this is interested in adopting rats, please know that rats make amazing fur friends. They are so loving, usually smart (with exceptions), and they are so much fun. Just be aware that they need a lot of play, attention, clean habitats, usually need to be in groups, and should get Vet care. When I adopted I usually spent around 150-200 bucks per rat on average in total Vet costs. Some were less, but at least one rat cost me over 1,500 dollars over her life just in vet care.

Also be ready for that short life span, as I previously mentioned. It's not enough time. . . but if you manage 2 1/2 years you did a really good job. I've met a few adopters who didn't realize that and blamed themselves for not having a rat reach 5 years. We don't know why some rats have extraordinary life spans, but most simply don't. There is a lot of information that seems to add months on, and when I get rats from a younger age or who are well cared for I'm more likely to get them to 2 year and 9 months. Research, care and knowledge help, but it's by months, not years.

If you can't adopt or foster, consider donating to a rescue. Even a few dollars can buy food and fleece, or a few toys. A bit more can help cover Vet costs and medicine. Many rescues have swag for sale, so you can show off your animal love while also supporting these great organizations. I might add links to the rescue I'm part of, but I want to get their permission first. There's a lot of rules that rescues need to follow and I don't want to accidentally get mine in trouble through inappropriate posting or monetization.

Rats rule!

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This is Bubblegum. She's my buddy, sweetheart, apple of my eye, photobomber extraordinaire, ball of energy and devotee. I love every one of my rats, but sometimes there are just these truly special ones who bond so deeply and dearly. I've often heard them called heart rats. I love the term, but in the end every rat ends up part off my heart.

Bubblegum was just coming to the point when she wanted love, attention and adventure when she came to me with her sisters. It would take another month or so for her to really bond closely, and then it was pure happiness and friendship.

More pics and stories below the cut.

This picture is from Vet appointment for another rat. Despite the sadness of that visit, Bubblegum was a bright light.

She tends to first run away, then towards new people. I try to find ways to let her meet people and see new things regularly. She goes along for most Vet visits.

Miss photobomber here was keeping me from getting a perfect picture of Bella's cuteness, by overloading with her own. Bubblegum spends large portions of the day trying to get my attention. Photobombing is one of her many tactics.

When she is truly fed up with waiting for me to finish a phone call or stop paying video games, she has a super special tactic. She climbs up to the top of the cage and throws herself off the door. She lands with a good sounding thud and immediately spins herself to face forward. I am lucky she rarely uses this technique, though it has a 100% success rate at getting my attention. You might think I don't give her enough attention, but she's really very loved and spoiled. I wish she could free roam, but instead I take her on my shoulder to visit all over my apartment, take her on walks inside her carrier if the weather is nice, smother her in affection, and more. She also has 4 wonderful rat friends and a cage filled with changing enrichment and food.

Bubblegum is the leader of my mischief. She's a somewhat dominant rat, but mostly just bowls everyone over with whatever she wants. She's very friendly and doesn't like conflict in the mischief. Spice and Bella have little spats, and they clearly upset Bubblegum. She's also super curious and her interest in things tends to spur the others into paying attention or checking out whatever she's interested in.

Bubblegum is nearing 2 years old along with her sisters, Science and Candy. Bubblegum had a small tumor removed very soon after I began fostering her. She was spayed to help reduce the change of further tumors, but within a bit she formed one new one. That was also removed and there's been no signs of new growths. She experienced a sudden slow down around 1-2 months ago and was diagnosed with arthritis. Metacam quickly let her regain most of her hyper and wonderful energy and movement. Bubblegum has sanctuary status.

Time for me to give Bubblegum more love!