Blog Posts

Spring & Summer 2021: Summer Reading & Second Chances


With 2020 behind us, let's get into 2021...I started working full-time in 2021 so I wasn't able to do much in the early months, but let's see what we have accomplished so far...Read More

2020: Cancer & Causes, Passings & Pride


2020 was really something! For most of all of 2020, I was working part-time and then full-time so we were less involved with things, but here is everything that happened in the world of Healing Whiskers during 2020...Read More

Review: How to Keep Your Rat's Cage Smelling Fresh with ZYMOX® Cage Diapers®


There are many different options when it comes to the bedding you use in your rat's cage...It can be a struggle to find bedding that helps with odor but isn't messy...I was recently approached by ZYMOX® to take a look at their new product the Cage Diaper®. I know, silly name, but it is actually quite a great product!...Read More

Fall 2019: Berry, Blessings, & Dallas, De-Stressings


It's been almost two years since I updated our blog since life has gotten so busy. I finally got a break so it is time for a proper update!...Read More

Summer 2019: Rainbows, Reading, & Rescue


This summer has been CRAZY! From going on TV, radio, being featured in newspapers, magazines, and online articles, to finishing up our Reading Rats program, and even rescuing a pet rat in distress!...Read More

Rats Make Me Boggle


I came up with the t-shirt design and my sister Lily Chesnut designed the adorable Vincent face in the middle. Go give her Facebook some love!...Read More

Books, Balloons, & Birthdays


Vincent's career is going very well! While these blog posts are more on the seasonal side, you can always follow us on your favorite social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr) to keep up to date on our adventures...Read More

Summer 2018: Training, Evaluation, Cake, & Blessings


This summer has been great! Training a therapy rat in the hot months definitely has its drawbacks, but we made it. Time for cooler weather and rat burritos!...Read More

Spring 2018: Nominations & Road Trips


We have had a very productive Spring! Get comfortable because this is going to be a long post...Read More

Oliver's Last Couple of Visits


Let's see, the last visit we talked about was back in October! Let's celebrate the rest of Oliver's work by sharing photos since our November visits...Read More

Saying Goodbye to Oliver & Jasper


This isn't a blog post I wanted to make anytime soon, but Jasper and Oliver have passed away. It has been a tough couple of weeks...Read More

Life of a Therapy Rat: Fall 2017


It has been a busy couple of months! Let's get down to business and show you what we have been up to!...Read More

Back at Berry - Viking Venture & Involvement Fair


Last month, we got back in the hang of things by going back to our favorite place ever: Berry College! It's not just my favorite place because I am an alumnus, but Oliver loves his Berry kids too!...Read More

Spending the Summer at Church


This summer, Oliver and I spend most of our volunteer hours at a local church interacting with children and adults!...Read More

BlogPaws 2017: Myrtle Beach Has Gone to the Rats


It has been a whole month since BlogPaws passed and we had a blast!...Read More

BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose 2017 Award Finalist


Yes, you read that right! We are a finalist for a major award by BlogPaws! Don't know what BlogPaws is? BlogPaws is the hub of all pet bloggers. A place to be educated and learn from other bloggers nationwide, a physical conference to attend every year, and even a place to find influencer opportunities. This is the highest achievement for a pet blogger and we are truly humbled!...Read More

A Fair Amount of Finals and Other Events


Let's see, April and May have been very busy for little ol' Oliver. We've had 6 therapy events totaling a little over 10 hours! Most were de-stressing at colleges for students, but we had some great public events as well...Read More

Jasper & Oliver's 1st Birthday!


Wow, it is so unbelievable that these two little boys I got in May 2016 are now a year old! Since rats only live a couple of years, we celebrated big!...Read More

Spring Break & St. PETrick's Day


March was a great month for us! We had another event at Berry College and also walked in a parade for St. PETrick's Day!...Read More

What is a Therapy Rat?


So what exactly is a therapy rat? What do they do? Can you go anywhere you want with them?...Read More

Oliver's First Official Therapy Visit


Oliver had his first official therapy visit today! We went to Berry College to de-stress some students for a couple of hours...Read More

We Passed: Official Therapy Rat Status Achieved!


Yes, that's right. Oliver and I are now an official Pet Partner team. Oliver is a therapy rat!...Read More

Getting Your Therapy Rat's Health Checked for Evaluation


For Pet Partners, you need to have a certificate of health completed before you and your pet are able to be evaluated for therapy work. We went off to the vet for a wellness check!...Read More

Walking for Suicide Awareness in the ATL


A few weeks ago we did a walk for suicide awareness with Out of the Darkness in Atlanta, Georgia. There was a TON of people with lots of loud noises so it was a great way to see how Oliver is doing with noises and such...Read More


Therapy Animal Workshop & a Trunk or Treat!


So a lot has happened in the past few weeks! Last week I completed the Pet Partners Therapy Animal Handler Workshop and just today I went to a Trunk or Treat with my fellow Compassionate Paws therapy teams...Read More

NAMIWalks Rome, Ga: Rats are Stigma Free


Woo! Fall hit us really quickly so we are getting out and using this cool weather wisely to help Oliver with new situations. This weekend we went to the NAMIWalk here in Rome, Ga. NAMI stands for National Alliance on Mental Illness and we decided not to walk since I am utterly exhausted from my new job, but Oliver was a hit!...Read More

Rats, Rat Rods, and Romaine Lettuce


With fall approaching I am so ready to bring out Oliver to events to get him used to new smells and people. It has been too darn hot to do anything outside! (Once it gets into the upper 70's that's when they start to have problems.) I've been looking at local events on Facebook and came across a car show benefitting our favorite animal rescue, A.R.F. so of course we had to go...Read More

Why Jasper Can't be a Therapy Rat


Seizures are a terrible thing and I've only seen a handful in my life, but it is very rare in young rats. Jasper has had 3 seizure up to the time I am writing this post and hopefully he won't have anymore but you can never be sure with them since we don't know a cause. The first one was once he was settled at home, the second was at PetSmart HQ, and the third was just at home again....Read More


Tumor Trooper Walk 2016: Where's the Froyo?


Jasper and I did the Tumor Trooper 1 mile walk this morning in Armuchee, Georgia! We came out to support a long time friend of mine and I thought it would be a perfect small outdoor event to help Jasper with his therapy work...Read More

My First Big Event: BlogPaws 2016


Jasper just got back from his first big event: BlogPaws 2016 in Arizona! We drove all the way from Rome, Georgia (which was a heck of a drive) and had so much fun...Read More

Why Therapy Rats?


So yes, I finally made the plunge and got another pair of rats. For those who don't know, I also have a blog called The Chesnut Mutts where we have a couple of other rats named Everett and Delmar. So why did I feel like it was the right time to add to my mischief? Let me give you a little backstory...Read More

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