The Uncompleted Post (?)

     I have just been inspired by my dear friend Geoff to update my blog. I've decided to rant about the random and odd obsessions/hobbies that come and go in my life. Unfortunately many said obsessions have come, consumed, conquered and left me (though remnants remain). My current obsession? Obtaining a pet. Since dog is out of the question for the moment I've set my sights on the smaller and more attainable furry little pets. There was once a time when I was convinced I would be getting a teacup pig whom I would call Gordon-Gordon. And yet another time I was sure I would be the proud owner of a pet hedgehog named Basil-ba(h)sil or maybe Ba(h)sil-basil. I got as far as contacting a breeder in Brookline before realizing the hedgehog was not for me. I've looked into sugar gliders, rabbits, chinchillas, birds - pretty much everything with the exclusion of reptiles. 
    It was only last week that I was dead set on getting a pet rat - well, pair of pet rats because apparently they're social creatures and need a constant companion. Now, I know what you're thinking, "a rat! Ew!" after all, I admit this was my first reaction. But after extensive research into these animals I discovered that if I could get over the fact that their tails really creep me out, they can make wonderful pets. They've been described as 'miniature dogs' in that they are highly intelligent and can be trained to do tricks and even come when called by name. They can also be litter box trained which is definitely a plus. They are extremely affectionate, and despite stereotypes are quite clean. And no, they are not like the rats in the alley behind my apartment because a) they're domesticated rats so think of it as more of a cousin to the wild rat, like dogs are to wolves and b) they're smaller and not squirrel size.
     I began investing even more of my time into my rat research and looked up breeders. Yes, breeders. There are people who breed pet rats, they're actually called fancy rats because they are often bred to have specific colorings and/or markings. Unfortunately there seemed to be a shortage of fancy rat breeders in Massachusetts so I had to expand my search to our neighboring states. 
     The rat was a perfect idea. And as a bonus they only live for roughly 3 years (so low commitment on my part because I do plan on getting that dog in the next several years). The only real problem that I faced was my mother. She's really not much of a pet person, let alone a rat person. So the ultimate plan was to not tell her about getting a pet rat and just let her find out when she saw the cage and said rats in the living room. 
     Now I'm not sure what finally got me to drop the rat crusade but I have. Perhaps it was all of the disgusted looks I'd get from people whenever I'd tell them my plans for a pet rat. The tipping point was probably when my psych actually said 'Ew!' out loud after telling her my plans. And thats got to mean something since psychs are not supposed to be judgemental and all, you know, 'safe environment' and whatnot.  
    I'm not sure how it all started but now I'm really into the whole pet rabbit thing. You see, I had already considered rabbits, but initially tossed the idea when I found out they can live for 10 plus years (i.e. long term commitment). But then I cam up with the idea of adopting a rabbit from a shelter or something so it'd already have a few years on him thus making him more of a short term commitment. And then eventually after doing more reasearch on pet rabbits I decided this was something that I could and wanted to commit to. I can see it now,  10 years into the future, me, my rabbit, and my dog. 
     So yes, I have contacted several rabbit breeders in the area about getting a pet rabbit. I've done extensive research and even have a folder with all of the rabbit information I've found. This might actually be happening. Of course my mom is still against any type of pet in her house but maybe she'll come around when she sees the adorable little guy. 




**Technically this is an unfinished post since I ADDed partway through writing it but I've decided to post it anyways because I'm too lazy to try and figure out where this post was going (if it was even going anywhere).