“He made a brief look back at us, as if to say, ‘Thank you — and yes, I know I need to go on a diet.’”
One sewer rat’s well-being in the world may not seem like much to some, but it means everything to him.
Fortunately for this fat metropolitan mouse who found himself in an awkward situation, he discovered a few compassionate folks who believe that his life is worth preserving.
Animal rescuers from Germany’s Berufstierrettung Rhein Neckar received a call on Sunday from a worried family who had discovered the chubby rat caught in the hole of a sewage drain cover.
He’d obviously gained a little too much weight to fit himself through the aperture — and was now trapped in a hopeless battle to squirm himself free.
The rat’s despair was palpable. But he wasn’t alone for long.
Volunteers from the rescue group arrived quickly, noticing that the rat was healthy other from being trapped.
Andreas Steinbach, spokeswoman for Berufstierrettung Rhein Neckar, told us, “He was in pretty good shape.”
However, due to the rat’s size, the rescuers were unable to pull him through the hole using the tools they had on hand. He was simply overly corked.
This rodent rescue would need the use of sophisticated equipment.
“We couldn’t save the rat on our own,” Steinbach said. “As a result, we contacted the volunteer firemen.”
And, indeed, they treated the problem seriously.
Rather than yanking the rat out of the hole the direction he’d been going, firemen adopted an alternative technique, risking harming the small fellow.
They raised the sewer cover and dragged him out through the bottom.
It was a wonderful team effort – an act of kindness all for the sake of a rat.
Fortunately, it worked.
After a cursory evaluation, the fat rat was released back into the sewage system he calls home.
He did, however, appear to convey a message to those who had come to help him before disappearing: “He made a short look back at us, as if to say, ‘Thank you — and yes, I know I need to go on a diet,’” Steinbach said.
But the rodent wasn’t the only one that was grateful that day.
Following the successful rescue, personnel on the scene were welcomed by two youngsters from the home that had made the call to save the rat’s life.
It was their good spirits that sparked the whole event, and they arrived bearing a drawing they’d made to convey their gratitude to those who’d answered their call.
Their attempts to save a lowly rat may have appeared futile to others, but not to Steinbach and the other volunteers who altered things for the better.
“We don’t care what sort of animal is in need of assistance. We are in the animal rescue business, not pest control “Steinbach said that the response to the rescue has been divided, but largely positive. “We got some negative comments from people stating rats are pests, but we also got a lot of positive messages and gratitude from a lot of people.”
Fortunately, goodness triumphed in this occasion.
