Pets of the Week: Monty, Splinter and Rosencrantz

Welcome to the Burke Pet Patch! I'll be bringing you weekly stories about local pet-related events, news, and interesting tails about furry and feathered friends around Burke. We'll also have a Burke "Pet of the Week" featuring stories and photos of special pets and their people.

So what better way to start off Burke Pet Patch than with an example story about Patch editor Rachael Dickson's pet rats—Monty, Splinter, and Rosencrantz.

I had the pleasure of meeting "the boys" as Dickson affectionately refers to them. I'm not one who is fearful of rats as long as they're domestic, and it was a sight to see the white furry creatures happily scamper onto Dickson's shoulder as she took them out for introductions.

"Monty is my cranky old man," she explained as she gingerly removed him from his cage. Monty is all of two years old, but in rat years he's considered a senior citizen as their life expectancy is 3 to 5 years. Monty dislocated his hip a few months ago, (I didn't know such a thing could happen to a rat), but a course of pain meds, rest, and TLC brought him back to his cranky, old self again.

As we sat on the sofa, the three rats weaved in and out of the pillows and dove down behind the seat cushions, where I thought we might never see them again. Much to my relief, every few minutes a head or tail would poke out from the cushions.

Dickson makes it a point to set straight the longstanding misconception that rats are mean, smelly and dirty. That may be the case with wild rats, but it's quite the opposite for domestic or "fancy rats," as they're referred to. "They're really friendly and sweet and they don't smell unless you leave their cage unattended for too long," says Dickson.

Friends and family who formerly disliked rats have since become fans. "Initially when I got my first rat, Monty, my mom was like 'that rat will never enter my house ever,'" Dickson said. "Now she always asks how they're doing."

Working primarily from home, Dickson is able to take the rats out to play a few times a day. "Sometimes, when I'm sitting here working, I'll bring one of them out for a welcomed distraction," she says. Recently one of the rats tagged along on Dickson's shoulder at a neighborhood block party, where they were met with a few surprised stares.

Dickson shared some amazing rat facts with me – for example, when they are stressed, their eyes "bleed." Not real blood, but something called porphyrin, a reddish secretion produced by a gland behind the eyeball. Another interesting fact—albino rats with pink eyes like Dickson has are mostly blind and find their way around by sense of smell and hearing. It was clear they recognized their "mom" by the way they sniffed their way over to congregate on her lap or shoulder.

Apparently, rats are quite intelligent creatures—smart enough to learn their name and to come when called. They can even learn to sit up, jump through a hoop, play basketball and do many other tricks, according to the informative ratfanclub.org website. "Rats can also be litter trained, " says Dickson, although she hasn't had time to attempt that yet.

Interested in adding a pet rat to your family? Ratrescue.com has a discussion board and volunteer transporters that help transport adopted rats to their new homes. You can also search Petfinder.com by entering your zip code and type of animal, or check with the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.

Burke Pet Patch will run weekly, featuring the "Pet of Week" and looking into various pet- and animal related happenings in the area. If you'd like to submit your animal for "Pet of the Week," send a couple pictures and a description of what makes your pet special to Rachael@patch.com. Please put "Pet of the Week Entry" in the subject line of your e-mail and include your contact information so we can get back to you about your amazing pet!