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RAT-SITTING
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Darling Rats Rat-Sitting
April 25, 2007
After a little over 6 years of dedicated rat-sitting
service to the San Francisco Bay Area (and beyond), I
am closing my doors to the pet-sitting services I once
offered here.
As some of you may be aware, in April 2007, a viral
outbreak (most likely SDA)
occurred in the Bay Area and the Sacramento Area. It
was suspected that the outbreak reached so many homes
by accidental spread through a local education and
adoption event. Just 1 week after the event, and before
any of us knew about the virus, I took in animals for rat-sitting
that had been adopted from the event. At the first
notification of the virus outbreak, I closed my
services and quarantined my household to err on the side
of caution and keep from potentially spreading the
virus further.
Luckily, both my family of rats and the family of rats
that I was pet-sitting after the event have since cleared
the incubation time for the virus, meaning we were
blessed to avoid it.
However, the scare was enough to make me and my husband
re-evaluate, for the sake of our own animals, the risks
that pet-sitting and boarding inevitably creates. We feel,
with the recent virus outbreak as the newest threat, that we
are no longer willing to risk the lives of our pets and have
thus closed the pet-sitting service as of today.
If you are looking for sitting for your rats, please
contact your veterinarian. Some veterinarians will
board animals for their clients. If your veterinarian
doesn't board animals, ask them for a reference, or try
a neighbor, family member or good
friend.
Thank you for your continued support over the years. I
appreciate your confidence in my services and will remember
the years and all the rats I was privileged to know with
fondness.
Michaela Darling
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