SUSQUEHANNA, Pa. — More than 120 rats were up for adoption during an event at Abrams & Weakley General Store for Animals, on Saturday. Those rats and hundreds more were illegally dumped in Dauphin County over two months ago.
“Honestly, I did not think there would be that many rat people in Harrisburg," said Bethany Pascoe, an adoption coordinator. "We’ve had people travel from Phoenixville. We’ve had a couple from Gettysburg come out. There was a family in Michigan that contacted me about adopting and coming out.”
Pascoe with a team of volunteers partnered with Abrams & Weakley General store for animals to host the rat adoption event. News about the event quickly spread which brought adopters from across south central Pennsylvania.
“They obviously needed help. The rats need good homes," said Amanda Stank, a rat adopter at the event. "I know that I’ve had a rat and I’ve enjoyed having one. So, I knew it was something that I could come out and do to help."
Pascoe said it has taken a lot of work over the past two months to care for the more than 120 rats they rescued. She emphasized this whole thing would not have been possible without the help of their community.
"I'm extremely proud of the community in general," Pascoe said. "We've had multiple people volunteer to foster. We've had tons of adopters. It's been absolutely amazing."
Volunteers said it's also a perfect time to educate people who are still warming up to the idea of owning a pet rat.
"The public response to being released is more of an 'Ew, who cares, they're just rats.' We just hadn't had enough exposure because rats have a bad rap sometimes," said Kristen Zellner, owner of Abrams & Weakley General Store. "We're just educating people to how wonderful they can be and what nice pets that they do make."
Whether you are a rat-lover or not, it's a shared compassion for what these rats have been through that has the Dauphin community and beyond trying to make a difference, no matter how tiny.
"I have so much compassion for them for what they've been through," Zellner said. "I think that's what drove out people here this weekend. They want to be part of something that they could do good. Especially for these little creatures with tiny little hands."
Pascoe said they hope to hold another adoption event in the new year for the rats still looking for a forever home.
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