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2016-2018 Jasper's Brother Therapy Rat, Read With Me Therapy Career: 50 hours, 501 people visited, traveled ~696.8 miles for events |
Oliver was a male Russian Blue Wheaten Burmese Dumbo Fancy Rat, a.k.a., a
domesticated rat with grayish coloring and big ol' ears! He was born April
2016 in South Carolina and had a brother named
Jasper.
Oliver really loved his work and was the chillest rat you will ever met. Head
rubs, watermelon, corn, and the very rare mini cupcake were are all wonderful
in his (tiny) book.
Oliver and I were a registered therapy team with Pet Partners and
Compassionate Paws from February 2017 to March 2018 and went to many colleges
and public events. During our visits, we loved to educate others about rats
and challenge the stigma that surrounds them.
We lost Oliver as well as his brother Jasper in
March of 2018 due to presumed organ failure and old age. His legacy lives on as we train
another rat for therapy work.
Blog Post Features:
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Awards, Press, and Mentions:
Dog's rule the day at St. PETrick's Parade - WRGA
March 18, 2017
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| Photo taken by David Crowder |
Nose-to-Nose Best Unconventional Pet Blog Finalist - BlogPaws
May 18-20, 2017
Meet Healing Whiskers Worldwide Rat Bloggers - DashKitten.com
May 9, 2017
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| Graphic by DashKitten |
More than a good meal - Rome News Tribune
June 19, 2017
Oliver, a pet therapy rat, brings smiles to people - BJBangs.net
June 19, 2017
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Photo taken by BJ Bangs |
Support grows for dog park plans - Rome News Tribune
October 22, 2017
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| Photo taken by Diane Wagner |
Healing Whiskers: Life of a Therapy Rat - KingsRiverLife.com
December 2, 2017
The Rome Council of Volunteer Administrators (COVA) Volunteer of
the Year Nominee
April 17, 2018
Healing Whiskers - Rat Life Magazine
June 2018
Q&A with Abby Chesnut of Healing Whiskers - It's a Rat's World
Magazine
October 2018
The Dog in The Dentist Chair: And other true stories of animals who
help, comfort, and love kids
January 24, 2019
"More Than Dogs" Pet Partners Interactions Magazine Spring 2019
April 14, 2019
"Blind Cats, Loving Llamas, and Happy Horses Prove Any Animal with a
Heart Can Be a Therapy Pet" People Pets
April 30, 2019
"Compassionate Paws: Therapy with Fur" -Northwest Georgia Living Fall
2019 Issue
August 27, 2019
"A Small Bundle of Love" Featured Teams -PetPartners.com
September 2019
