former lab rats make the best pets, karmically speaking

A public service announcement:

Here's the good news:

Cal State Northridge psych lab is permanently shutting down

Here's the bad news:

They want all the animals out by Wednesday, May 7, or they will all be killed. They have 50 mice; 20 hamsters (dwarf, syrian golden & black), 20 rat (black/white & brown/white), 5 guinea pigs (1 pair, 1 trio).

Dwarf hamsters, mice, rats + guinea pigs can live in same sex or spayed/neutered groups. Syrian (regular) hamsters generally need to live alone.

All animals are healthy and have only been used for animal behavior observation.

These animals were all whisked away in the nick of time by the delightful Debra Jenkins, a local rat and rabbit rescuer of great renown (I have not met Debra in person, but I got to know her a bit during the Great Petaluma Rat Hoarding Disaster of 2006. She has amazing networking skills for saving animals). Please contact Debra to adopt or sponsor a rescued lab rat.

I myself had several rescued lab rats, who came from a UCSD lab, who were charming pets who brought a lot of joy during their lives. I can't take in any myself right now, as my cat population is at ten (five kittens, including a pathetically undersized runt; one undersocialized young cat; plus four "regular" cats).