From Rat Lady to Cockroach Lady to Dog Lady to Book Lady

I became a fan of rats when I ran a Preschool Daycare in Greeley, Colorado ,and our pet guinea big died. I went to the pet store to get another one, and the lady there said I did not want a guinea pig. I wanted a rat. She said they were clean, intelligent, affectionate, gentle, and did not bite. Despite misgivings and being creeped out by the tail (which causes amazingly acrobatic balance), I got a rat. The lady was right. Judy, our rat, was the sweetest little thing. She would come when called and would sit on my shoulder. We all loved her. It was also a great lesson for kids to not jump to social predudices. Judy was the first of many rats in my classrooms. At one point I populated part of Scotia, New York with my classroom rat’s babies. Kids realized rats were cool. The biggest downside to rats is their very short lifespan, and they are very susceptible to cancer.

When I was teaching sixth grade science one of our units was called Diversity of Life. In this unit we studied Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. I am not a fan of insects, particularily roaches. In this unit I had to handle this roach. It took me 30 minutes, deeply sweating, to overcome my fear and repulsion. Madagascar Hissers’ only defense is to hiss like a teapot. They do not bite. This thing was freaky!

But…

I learned the Hisser stopped hissing when it learned my smell and was not longer fearful. I was a great actress. My students were so convinced Madagascar Hissing Roaches were awesome, they not only wanted their pictures taken with the roaches, but they wanted to adopt them. That did not happen. It was one thing to populate Scotia with adorable domestic rats. Being known as the Cockroach Lady was something else.

Finally I found my species. I am a Dog Lady through and through. Training dogs and raising puppies was THE BEST. There is nothing (in my opinion) like a puppy, especially Golden Retriever pups. They are like fuzzy teddy bears. I definitely spread joy throughout much of the US with Goldens.

My latest goal is to be known as the Book Lady. I am working hard to create children’s books. So far I’ve written no books about rats. I am writing one now about insects but not Madagascar Hissers. And yes, yes, yes on the dog books. At least one third of my manuscripts have dogs in them.

Happily rats and cockroaches are in my past. Books and dogs will always be a part of my life. This is my niche.