Get a Dog

[Deb]

 

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[inavalan]

GetADog.jpg

I love dogs ... I actually love animals.

I had a friend who had a couple of dogs: a golden retriever, and a miniature australian shepherd, and he let them roam unsupervised on an undeveloped piece of land next to his multi-million dollar property. He loved a lot his dogs, and loving dogs brought us closer. I had a miniature red poodle, whom I rarely let off leash, to be sure that nothing bad could happen to her. Obviously I asked my friend how can  he let his dogs roaming that way, isn't he afraid that something bad might happen (there were coyotes in the adjacent woods)? His surprising answer was that he can't let his egotistical love deprive his beloved dogs of enjoying freedom. I understand that, but I couldn't do the same.

[Deb]

I've always loved animals, all kinds, and was even adopted by a few of them when I was little—domestic and wild. While my son was growing up we had dogs, birds, leopard geckos (I actually started breeding them); rats (I started an online sewing business because of them); fish; a horse; chickens.

I agree with not letting dogs roam. Dogs are very domesticated, not meant to deal with the hazards of the outdoors. I live where there are coyotes and large birds of prey, and people's dogs and cats are always disappearing. Last fall a raccoon squeezed into my chicken run and killed my chickens. Just for fun. 

Except for some koi in the pond, I'm fresh out of animals—for now.

[strangerthings]

You started a sewing business because of rats?!
 🤔

Now im thinking of one of those animated kid movies where the woman sews clothes for rats....

🥰

[Deb]

You started a sewing business because of rats?!
 🤔

Well, since you asked... yes I did. I'm not crazy. Really.  🤣  It was sort of unintentional. I made a rat carrier for my son and his friends, a fleece sort of shoulder sling, because the kids would carry the rats in their hoodie pouches until the rats got too big for them. Then one night I was bored, wanted to learn how to use some new website development software and also experiment with organic search engine optimization. I threw together a business name (Rat Happy), a product name (Ratz Pak), a logo and main graphic (illustration of Einstein wearing a Ratz Pak and saying "Ratz Paks are zimply genius"), a five page website with a shopping cart.

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Then my design business got busy and I forgot about the website. Apparently the optimization worked, based solely on carefully worded copy, key words, meta text—including on images. Orders started coming in a few months later. Then international orders started coming in. Italy, England, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand (BIG customers), Norway. Bulk orders from fancy rat breeders. In a couple of years I had to hire a friend to help me with sewing product. I added hammocks and "toobs" to use up leftover fabric, and metal shower curtain chain hooks to hang them in the cage. Heart-shaped customized memorial plaques. As rats only live 2 years, it was a profitable move on my part, lol. A woman in Philly who rescued rats was my biggest customer for the plaques.

After 5 years I got tired of making the same thing over and over, and shut the business down. But... I have to say I did get a call from Sharktank. The guy that called was from NYC and could not grasp the concept of rats as pets... he kept seeing subway rats in his mind. Vermin.

But no, I was not sewing clothes for rats. Lol. Not like these folks that knit for other species. But I had a lot of fun with it. And learned I didn't want to use the new web development software. And also learned to be very competent in search engine optimization.