South Bay : RAT RESCUE
Some rally to the cause of whales, or porpoises, or those seals with the heart-rending expressions that appear in photographs promoting animal rights groups.
But now animal lovers have rushed to save a more unloved creature--the rat.
The saga began in April when 54 rats were found abandoned without food or water inside a locked Redondo Beach storage facility. Their owner was never located, but some speculate they might have been raised as food for pet snakes.
The rats were moved to the Los Angeles SPCA shelter in Hawthorne, which put out a call for new owners.
Rats can make attractive pets, SPCA spokeswoman Mary Wamsley said. “Rats are less high-maintenance than a dog. Dogs require exercise more. They whine.”
Some Angelenos apparently agreed, since 25 of the rats were adopted by people described by Wamsley as “your average Joe.” The remaining 29 rats--and their subsequent offspring--have been scooped up by two members of the Rat and Mouse Club of America, a group based in Orange County.
Wamsley said: “We wanted to make sure these animals are going to be loved and cared for. Even if they are rats.”
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