Shakespeare is probably my favorite pet that I've ever owned. I loved him even more than I love my dogs, to be honest. He would sit with me while I watched TV, sometimes I'd take him to stores in my purse. He came when I called him, he knew some tricks (stay and fetch), and he was litter trained. One time I even brought him to my zoology class and everyone was admittedly freaked out by him (ignorant people who think rats are gross!) His favorite foods were cheerios and yogurt drops, although he loved to chew the buttons on the remote control! It's hard for people who have never owned rats to imagine it, but our bond was closer than I've ever bonded with a dog. His time with me was far too short, though, because he was only about 3 years old before he got stomach cancer. Even if we had the tumors removed, there was only about a 30% chance that he would survive, so I put him to sleep. The vet took his body once he had died because he wanted to examine him, so I like to think maybe Shakespeare's death helped save other ratties in the future :3 Putting him to sleep was the hardest thing I've ever done, and recalling that memory honestly is bringing tears to my eyes.
I found out Shakespeare was actually a hermaphrodite shortly before s/he passed away, so s/he never actually could have had baby rats, but it's nice to imagine that this was true.
The black and white baby on the mother's back is based on another rat I owned named Mika, and the brown baby on top of the other baby is based on my rat Vancha, who was Mika's brother in real life. Mika and Vancha didn't get to live very long, I'd only had them about a year before they both got pneumonia. Vancha died almost immediately, but I kept Mika alive with some vet care, although he didn't end up making it either.
So this is my little tribute to them
I've had many rats, but those three were my favorites.The daddy and other two babies are completely fictional, though.
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