KELOWNA – His name is Dexter and he’s taken YouTube by storm. A week-and-a half-ago Okanagan resident Jayne Stanfield posted a 30-second video of her pet rat online and in just 10 days, it has gone viral, receiving more than a million hits from all over the globe.
“Absolutely amazed that people have taken such an interest in it. It has taken us by surprise,” says Stanfield.
In the video, Stanfield tries to feed 8-month old Dexter one of his favorite vegetables, but Dexter doesn’t like to eat in his sleeping kennel and hurtles the broccoli out every time it’s thrown in.
Stanfield adopted Dexter from the Kelowna SPCA after he was surrendered by his owner. Shelter staff say there are a lot of misconceptions about rats adding they can make great pets.
“A lot of people when they think rat they think the ones that are scrounging around in the garbage and disease ridden and stuff like that. That’s completely inaccurate. A lot lot of the domesticated rats are actually quite smart. They are easy to train, they make great pets, they are very social, they just make great pets overall. They are not dirty as you think, they are pretty clean animals and they are very smart,” says Kelowna SPCA Assistant Manager Cam Buksa.
Rats have a short life span and only live between two to three years.
Click here to see the YouTube video of Dexter that has gone viral.
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