Welcome to our first blog post everyone! As many of you know we have been spending the last few months getting our rescue, Guelph Rat Save, off the ground. It has been a long and arduous process; answering emails, organizing fundraising events and collaborations, and keeping the rodents we currently have happy and healthy while trying to ultimately find them loving forever homes. We greatly appreciate all of the support that you have been offering us, both through resources, and emotionally and mentally, and we hope that you bear with us while we get things rolling and get in touch with each of you to create the loving community that we envision.
Guelph Rat Save was founded and is currently run out of our three bedroom apartment in Guelph, Ontario and hopes to service the city as well as the surrounding area, eventually expanding to aid rodents in need in as much of the province as possible. I myself, Corey, and my compassionate partner Becca (the mastermind behind this whole operation) are both animal lovers, vegans, hippies, nerds, and animal parents. We share our passion for helping animals of all shapes, sizes, personalities, and backgrounds, with a special interest in those individuals who would normally go overlooked by most people.
We started this rescue with the hopes to educate others on a largely misunderstood group of animals who many shy away from because of poorly founded stigma, folklore, and overall misinformation: rats, and other rodents ranging from mice to degus, chinchillas to hamsters, gerbils to rabbits, and everything in between. We aim to educate the public to lift this view and destroy the stigma that these animals are dirty, unintelligent, and unfriendly creatures, and show that they are in fact the opposite. Rats and other rodents are quite hygienic, cleaning regularly (more than most cats or dogs), are highly intelligent (smarter than cats or dogs, and are among the 10 most intelligent animals), and are some of the most loyal and loving companions anyone could have.
Through fundraising, educational opportunities, and networking, we hope to set up a community for the care of rodents of all backgrounds, including rats adopted and rescued from the labs and neglectful situations. We plan to work with multiple volunteers to take in animals, lend them care, socialize them and prepare them for a network of foster homes, from which they can be adopted and find their forever homes where they can live out the rest of their days in much deserved happiness. And in cases where the individuals are not deemed healthy enough to be adopted into a new home, hope is not lost. They are welcome to live the rest of their days in comfort at the rescue, along with the rest of our animal family.
We hope that you stay in touch and stay tuned, as we are just getting started and there will be much more to come. Like us on Facebook (Guelph Rat Save), follow us on Twitter (@guelphratsave), and on Instagram (@guelphratsave), or email guelphratsave@gmail.com to be added to our list serve and get updates, stay in touch, and learn more about how you can help us make the world a better place for these animals, one step at a time.
Thank you so much for your time everyone, and stay tuned. In our next post we'll discuss how you can get involved with us and other organizations. Until then take care everyone!
-Corey of Guelph Rat Save
