Dave part 1

The blaze boy was almost mine before I ever went to meet him.  I was sent a picture of him and his brother, both the most relaxed rats that the local rattery had. At first I was leaning toward the beige-colored rex (that was the blaze's brother), but that goofy lopsided face started growing on me the more I looked at the picture.

I tried to convince myself to stay neutral and meet them first, but it was hard, especially when I thought, "goodness he looks a bit like
Dave Stutler, from the Sorcerers Apprentice...."  then he even had a name. Oh dear.

(Jay Baruchel, who plays Dave)

I kept thinking about Dave (the rat)  up until the point when I was staring at a litter of adorable four and a half week old rats at the breeder. She wanted me to see them before looking at the older ratties. They were in a 30 or 40 gallon tank, propped on a stand in the breeder's garage. Very, very cute, but I wanted to see Dave.

The breeder led me over to the rodent rack that was Dave's home, the garage was dark and cages were everywhere. It had the smell of a small town pet store. The breeder handed Dave over. I held him close and he sat patiently in my hands, not trying to escape or struggle like the others. I could tell he was nervous and I had a distinct feeling he might not like me all that much right then- but he was too polite to show it. He had a quiet feel about him and was very still. I fell for him right then. Attempting to still make a clear and intelligible decision on whether it wouldn't be better to get a younger rat, I put him down and went to look at the babies again.

It took some time, and the breeder started showing off all her rats to me, including Dave's father, a gray and white rex who was quite pretty. I take a long time to make decisions, even when I've already made the decision but don't want to admit it.

My carrier was retrieved from the car and Dave was put inside. He was nervous yet again, looking very surprised at being put in the strange contraption.

Dave was driven in a strange car, taken into a strange house, and finally released into a small blue bottomed cage with soft bedding and exciting toys. Dave was home.

Dave in Carrier