12/7/05
Every once in a while you get a pet that is about a perfect an animal as you can get. Ivory was one of those. Christmastime of '03 I was informed that someone had left some rats on a vet's doorstep and they needed a home or would be turned over to the next door petstore where they would be reptile food. I contacted the people at the vet's office and made arraignments to pick up the rats. Turns out there were three baby albinos left in a paperbag in the middle of the rain on the vet's doorstep. The rats had been in the paperbag all night in the bad weather. When I got them, they all had respiratory problems. One of them died the next day. The remaining two, a boy and a girl, ended up surviving. The boy was placed in a home in Ventura and the girl ended up staying with me. I named her Ivory because of her nice white fur.
Ivory got along with all rats and humans. She loved to be pet and would sit in your lap for hours. Everyone that came in contact with her couldn't believe how nice she was. If there ever was a poster child for why rats are such good pets, it was Ivory. She was one of those rats who was always happy and always wanted attention. When she got attention she appreciated it.
Later I ended up with another girl Audi who I couldn't keep off my desk or away from wires. Ivory and Audi were buddies. Diane Newburg agreed to take Audi off my hands if Ivory was part of the package and I had to keep them together, so Ivory went to live with Diane in the rat room. If you've seen the documentary "Rats: The Great Underrated Pet" you can see Ivory, the coy little albino who sticks her nose in the camera. Ivory is also the rat on the cover of the DVD box sitting on top of the "T" with Chester.
Ivory with some of her stash.
She's a camera hog.
When she was a baby...
On the table.
One of the last pictures taken of her on my lap, shortly before she
was
put to sleep.
She had a great life and despite the terrible first few weeks of her life and having the health issues she did, no one would have ever predicted she would have lived over two years. Unfortunately, toward the end, her health issues caught up with her. She had a great life and was appreciated by everyone. Everyone should have at least one Ivory in their life.