Rats!

OK...so my house is a little messy..at least we don't have bugs, rats, or mice in it. Maybe an occasional scorpion or two and every once in a while a little Gecko gets in and dies from poison (thanks Terminex). I hate to find little dead Gecko's. They are so cute and they don't bite. If I find them alive I catch them and put them in my flower beds. I love most critters and some people think that is strange. Well today we cleaned out the garage and found that rats have been in there. I was sorting through boxes and taking anything we really don't need out and putting it in the trash or on freecycle (a place to give crap away). I found a nest of little tiny pink baby rats. They were so cute, eyes closed, ears not developed and just very very helpless. John said "throw them over the fence". Yeah, not going to happen. My heart broke. This is life and God created it. God gave them a mother to care for them and little tiny beating hearts. I tried not to cry. I wanted to put the box back and call it a day but the rats were destroying our boxes and stealing our dog food. They had managed to stuff every little space in every little box and hose and space full of dog food. Like a squirrel burying a nut for the winter. We had a garage full of "pack rats" now for the first time I understand the phrase. Rats really pack EVERYTHING. I gathered up all sevan babies and put them in a small cell phone box. I ran an add in the freecycle saying I hate 7 homeless baby rats who needed homes and lots of care. I prayed someone would love animals as much as me and foster these little guys. My husband thought I was nuts (kinda still does). He kept saying "no body wants rats" , "people feed them to snakes". I get that and all but I don't mind killing something for a reason like food. It is the natural order of things. Snakes eat rats, cats eat snakes. I get it. I want the rats out of the garage too, I just want them relocated. Anyway about 15 min. after I posted the add for free rats a rat lover called me. She breeds rats and has "fancy" rats like Dalmatian rats (the coolest looking rat I have ever seen). I am not really a rat person but I could love one with out a problem...just look into their cute little eyes. I told my husband I was meeting the rat lady at the Cedar Park high school to hand the 7 little babies over. He was mad. He said I was wasting my gas and time. They are just rats. I kept thinking...does he know me at all. SO I left and met the nice lady. I talked to her awhile at the school and then followed her home to see her rats. I met her cute kids and saw her super cool rats. Then she sent me with a rat trap that catches them without hurting them. She says if I can catch the momma she will try and raise them together. She does not sell to snake owners. She sells to people that love rats and they have to be friendly. Her teen daughter came running to see the new babies...so nice. I did my good for the day...RIGHT. Well not quite I came home and continued the cleaning out of the sheds. TWO sheds. Well turns out we had two nests I found another nest with 6 babies in it. I did not want to call the rat lady back...too embarrassed to do that. So I called my crazy neighbors who raise all kinds of things including three children. They were excited and took the rats to try and foster them. They have never raised little rodents before but were looking them up on the Internet. I gave them a cage and 6 little babies that had a little bit of fur and eyes closed. I would have loved to raise them but I knew after how John reacted it was out of the question. I love my husband and he puts up with me as much as I put up with him. When I came back and talked to my hubby he said he felt like a big A-hole after I left. Not because he likes rats or cares if they live or die...he just felt bad because he dismissed my feeling on the subject and should understand by now my love for "all things living". I am tired right now. I have a lot on my mind and cleaned two sheds today plus drug my carpet out of the living room and cleaned it in the driveway today with the rug cleaner...took about an hour and a half. It is still out there drying I am sure our neighbors are thrilled to see my rug on the driveway LOL. I won't mention that I had the rat motel in my back yard to them. O the life of me. I love creatures. I need to go check my trap now.