An Ode to Jack

Written February, 2009.


I lost a close friend this week, my beloved rat Jack. He had a good, long life and brought a lot of joy to mine. Even so, it’s never easy to let someone go, be it a person or a four-legged companion, so I felt compelled to write. The best part of my time with Jack was that I wasn’t even supposed to have had him at all.

Jack was born in August 2006 to someone who was raising rats to feed to her snake. Jack ended up being particularly sweet and friendly, so the little black and white hooded rat became my sister’s pet. After some time, she realized she didn’t have the time to devote to having a rat and asked me to see if someone I worked with at the pet store would want him.

I couldn’t give him to the store since they would use him as snake food, too, so I started asking coworkers if they wanted a rat. No one did, since they already had lots of pets of their own. Finally, one night it occurred to me that I may as well take him! I’d wanted a rat since I was a kid, and since I was finally on my own AND an adult, I should take him!

Being a vet tech, my sister had him neutered before he came to me. (Just like with dogs and cats, neutering rats can prevent future health problems and it prevents males from leaving urine trails). I was relieved when I found out he already had a name, since naming animals is frustrating to me! But Jack was a perfect rat name and it fit him well.

I wasn’t used to handling rats and was nervous the first time I held Jack. He kept nibbling at my fingers and I finally realized he was giving me ratty kisses! He was very sweet and friendly and enjoyed riding on my shoulder and munching on whatever I was eating. I decided early on that since rats don’t have very long lifespans, he may as well live life to the fullest and I indulged him with junk food from time to time.

Two of my favorite memories of Jack relate to just that! I was eating a cinnamon roll once and decided to offer the rest to him. In his excitement, he grabbed my finger and chomped it instead of the cinnamon roll! Yep, rats give pretty painful bites. But the best part was, when he got the cinnamon roll, he devoured it and was then wired on sugar for the rest of the night! I put him on the floor and he zipped around the living room, crazy from the sugar!

Another time, I discovered that he shared the same penchant for wine that I did. I had him running around on my desk while I was doing homework and he discovered my wine glass. He pulled himself up on it, tipped the glass over, spilling wine everywhere, and proceeded to lap it up!

Apparently, my rat was a wino. From then on, I’d let him lick a bit of wine from my finger every now and then. He preferred white zinfandel and chardonnay. You won’t find that in any rat care books, but as I said, he may as well make the most of his short time in this world.

He was in perfect health up until just about a month ago. I would give him enrichment activities where I would hide food and he’d have to search for it. Rats are extremely intelligent and like to be challenged. Peanuts were one of his favorite foods, and they kept him busy. I tied some peanuts to the top of his cage and took a video of him figuring out how to get them down.

A week later, I noticed that he suddenly wasn’t running up the two flights of stairs in his cage to get his treats. I gently pulled him out of his house and realized he no longer had the use of his back legs and tail. I immediately went online to do research and found out that this was really common in older rats. Rats basically aren’t meant to live beyond about a year and a half. In captivity, we keep them alive with good food and care, but eventually their bodies just give out. The sites I was reading said that rats adjust well to using only their front legs. I bought him a horizontal cage so he could move around more easily and lowered the water bottle and tipped the food bowl on its side.

He seemed to adjust to it well, and I made sure to keep him clean and still cuddle with him as much as I could. I told myself that the day he was no longer happy, I would have him put down so he wouldn’t suffer. One night I came home to find him extremely lethargic and I made plans to have him put down the next morning. Crying, I tried to bring him a great last meal—strawberry ice cream and chardonnay. He immediately perked up and seemed happy with life once again!

While I was out of town, JD called to tell me that Jack wasn’t doing so well and was having trouble breathing. By the time he got home that night, Jack had passed away. I was heartbroken. I was so upset that I wasn’t there for him, but at the same time was glad he was at peace. I can only hope that he went in his sleep, peacefully.
For some people, it’s hard to imagine what is so special about a rodent that most people try to keep out of their homes. For those who have had rats, they understand what is so magical about them. In the few days that he’s been gone, I still hear his happy nibbling, and I find myself putting aside table scraps for him, only to remember a moment later that he’s no longer here. I am glad he lived his two and a half years here happily, and so glad that I was able to spend the time with him that I did. Here’s to you, Jack Rat. I hope Rat Heaven is loaded with peanuts, cinnamon rolls, ice cream and wine!