The story is about the bond between woman and her 50 sociable rats
If asked to choose a pet, which one would you be most inclined to select? Perhaps most of us would like a dog, a cat, a goldfish or maybe a rabbit or hamster. These pets are very much in vogue lately – simple and traditional choices. And perhaps this was the reason that prompted the subject of our story to choose an atypical type of pet. Do you want to know what she chose to feel less alone once she retires? Rats.
Yes, you read that correctly. Not the hamsters we sometimes hear about, but the small rodents themselves. And not one or two or even three, but 50. Let’s see how this came about:
The subject of this story is Michele Raybon, 51 from Palmdale, California. Michele got her first house rat in 2018 from a Texas breeder. The woman immediately became very fond of the pets and she considers them very friendly and sociable and they know how to keep her company.
A great lover of animals in general, she initially had only a few rats . Then, when she moved to California, and couldn’t find a rat breeder, she decided to become one. In the early days, she sold a few to rat lovers, but when she stopped selling them, all of her rat farm became her pets.
“I love animals deeply. When I grew up I wanted to be a veterinarian, but that didn’t happen,” she said. She continued: “I also have four dogs, three cats and two pigs who live in a pen of their own. My love for rats is not an obsession – it is rather what I would call a passion. The rats are very sociable and they all have very different characters. They are my little “children”. They are simply wonderful”.
The woman has become world famous on the internet since she posted a video in which she showed all of her house rats bathing in the sink in her kitchen: 25 males and 25 females engaged in having a very relaxing bath. This was certainly a scene that some of her friends find somewhat disturbing. She herself says that not all the people who visit her appreciate the presence of these creatures. Others, on the other hand, she says, one should consider them in just the same way as one does with other animals.
“Unfortunately there is a great prejudice towards rats.” Michele continued: “Many are convinced that they are dirty animals and carriers of diseases, but this is not the case. Most people tend to stay away from rats and look upon them as a threat, but for me they definitely aren’t. ” This woman is more than proud of her choice of pet and she would never give up on her little rodents.
