It took a rat, a hairless rat to be precise, to teach me one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned while working in a veterinary hospital.
The rat’s name was Newt and her owners loved her. I personally have never loved a rat, so this was all new to me. We’d initially seen her for an abscess on her face. I can’t tell you for certain what we actually diagnosed for Newt, but I know at one point we discussed an eye infection. I can tell you that an eye infection does not make a rat cuter. We eventually had to remove the eye in surgery. I can also tell you with great certainty that a hairless rat does not get cuter when you remove an eye.
We had issues with keeping Newt warm post surgery. I remember one of our PetNurses, Lesley, who isn’t particularly fond of rats, carrying Newt around the clinic tucked up next to a rubber glove full of warm water. Again, this did nothing for the “cuteness” of Newt. I found the whole thing strange. Why so much effort for a rat?
Two surgeries and a lot of love didn’t do the trick and in the end the infection got the best of Newt. I remember being astonished by the great lengths everyone was going to, just to save this one hairless, scarred little rat. At one point, Newt’s parents even fashioned an Elizabethan collar out of a pop bottle in an attempt to keep Newt from ripping out her stitches. That’s dedication. I remember hearing the sadness in Newt’s parent’s voices when they called to tell us that she had passed. They were grieving deeply. It was right around that moment that I finally got it. Newt wasn’t just a hairless, scarred rat to them, or maybe she was, but it didn’t matter. She was family. They cared about her and loved her, so when she needed help they provided all they could for her. And so I learned something that October. Treating Pets like family means all Pets, even the not-so-cute ones. Because one man’s rat is another man’s Newt.
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