Rabbit burrows in next to school window

We have a rabbit that lives right next to our outdoor dryer vent. Warmest spot on the block!

The rabbits sure are being pests this winter. They have chewed up most of my bushes. They are lucky that shooting guns in town is not allowed

That's a cute story, but too bad the teacher thought it would be "nice" to have the rabbit as a class pet.

Even classroom "pets" can suffer from neglect and abuse. Once animals are brought into schools, their natural tendencies and instincts are often ignored. For example, mice and most other small mammals are nocturnal, yet they are kept in brightly lit classrooms and removed from their cages during the day. Live mice or rats are also fed to snakes and other non-domestic animals so that they can demonstrate "predation" to children, who laugh, scream, or turn away.

When the school year ends, these "pets" frequently end up in already-overworked shelters or at the homes of students who claim that they can provide "good homes." Unfortunately, important screening procedures are often overlooked by hurried, overworked teachers at the end of the school year, and this oversight can lead to tragic consequences for animals.

Even if a student has behaved responsibly toward animals in the classroom, his or her siblings might be abusive or reckless, or the student might become bored with the animal. Once at a student's home, many classroom "pets" are ignored and deprived of both human contact and appropriate companions of their own species. Students who do not understand the responsibility and time that animal companions require may neglect to fill water bottles, provide food, or clean cages.

Mich, while none of your points are completely invalid, I believe you might be underestimating a lot of the factors you mention.

Rats are not particularly nocturnal. They are not classed as such. Wild, or True, rats function primarily at night for convenience's sake. However, in areas that are heavily populated by the nocturnal owl, most True rats forage during the day to avoid predation.

Fancy rats, the type kept in laboratories, classrooms, and as pets are also opportunists for both food and interaction. I have both colonized for research and owned these animals as pets. They do not suffer when handled during daylight hours; any Ethics 101 class in an Associate's program will tell you this.

When the school year, or indeed the unit of study ends, the school has many options for placement, depending on how the rat or mouse was acquired. If it was "borrowed" from a research facility, it is returned to its colony. If it was privately purchased, the school has the option of sending it to an exotic rescue, such as Capital City Rat Rescue (who do great work!) or homing the pet with a child.

Every classroom scenario I have experienced involves parental permission. The parents understand that they take responsibility for the pet. My first pet rat was a classroom adoptee.

The rats and mice that have been colonized as feeders are an important educational tool. Children must be taught the life cycle; it helps them grow in their understanding of the universe. I have not personally known a grade school class to use a live "prey" demonstration in at least 10 years; however it is used in some exotic-specific veterinary classes.

I hope you'll research the colonization, care, and behaviors of these animals... outside of what PETA proclaims. :)

I think this would have been an excellent source of classroom learning, even if the pet wasn't brought into the school. Mich, I'm sure there are lots of teachers and students and parents who know how to properly care for animals. You're concern would perhaps be more valid if it was directed towards children who are abused and neglected.

That is a cute story. I am wondering how the comments turned negative?

To Mich...

I think he was just commenting on having the pet stay outside by the window, not necessarily bringing the pet into the classroom! You read too much into it.

To Burt: I agree with you, but most people in Fremont are always negative, they have nothing to be happy about. What a horrible way to live!

Classroom pets are not allowed in FPS so the point is moot.

This is a cute story !!

I love reading stories like this, it's a nice change from all the bad things that happen in the news, and for those of you that feel the need to comment negatively about this or any other storied please keep your comments to yourself no one wants to read that anyways and it just ruins it for everyone else, just because your life is miserable doens't mean you need to share it with others, keep your comments to yourself. I am SO tired of nice stories being wrote in this paper and negative people finding something to crab about.

That's awesome! What a fun surprise to come back to when you return to school. I'm sure the kids thought it was great.