(February 26, 2014)
SAN DIEGO – A San Diego family is suing Petco after the death of their 10-year-old son from a bacterial infection they say he contracted from his pet rat. Attorney John Gomez told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his firm filed the lawsuit Monday in San Diego County seeking an unspecified amount for the suffering endured by the Pankey family, whose son, Aidan, died June 12, 2013, hours after he was rushed to the hospital with severe stomach pains. The San Diego County medical examiner's office ruled that the cause of death was streptobacillus moniliformis infection, commonly known as rat-bite fever, after exposure to an infected rat.Let me say this about rats as pets:
Not for kids.
First, full disclosure.
I had a couple of rats in a cage when I was a kid. I had no idea how to take care of them. We kept them in my small play-room in the garage, and they smelled terrible. I'm talking, "How Does A Goat Without A nose Smell?" terrible.
What do you do with a cage full of rats? And most assuredly, if you have a mating pair of rats, you will end up with a cage full.
Can you let the run around the house? No. They'll get into the walls. And poop. A lot.
Can you hold them in your lap and fondle them? Oh, wait ...
...The boy's grandmother purchased the male rat, which Aidan named Alex, because her only grandson wanted a mate for his female rat, Gomez said. The boy took the rat home May 27, 2013, and woke up the night of June 11 in severe pain with a fever and stomach problems. He was pale, lethargic and could barely walk, according to the lawsuit. He died at 1:09 a.m. the next day.Let's review: Rats are smelly, dirty, ugly and disease-ridden. They are vermin. They are not appropriate pets for children. (Or for adults, either; but hey! Whatever floats your boat. Don't expect me to come visit a Rat-House, even if you are my New Best Friend.)
There's a phrase in the Bible .. either Revelations or Liviticus, both chapters are dour and gloomy, so I don't read them much .. which says something like "Thou Shalt Not Suffer A Witch To Live". I don't believe in witches, but I DO believe in RATS!
They don't belong in a home, and they are not pets. The government which wants to legislate against civilian ownership of firearms (which is constitutionally protected) on the basis that "guns kill people" ... should start legislating against civilian ownership of rats ... which DO kill people!
Vile creatures which deserve our instinctive disgust, even if they DO serve a legitimate ecological purpose.
And that's all I have to say about this.
1 comment:
They are also good for being the subjects of scientific experimentation. Afterward the scientists dissect their dead little bodies.
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