Rat in Cardboard Box Rescued from Highway in Bangor

I've often said, there's three things that will always, always, always, send me into a blind rage. And that is any kind of abuse toward children, the elderly, and to animals. So you can imagine when I saw this Facebook post from the Bangor Police Department, I wanted to hunt down whomever did this to this poor little rat.

Now let's get on thing clear right away: This was not some wharf rat that crawled up out of the sewer and started infesting someone's house. This was a domestic pet rat that someone put inside a box, taped it up, and then threw it out their car window to the side of the highway.

It was found by someone who saw the box laying on the side of the highway, and stopped to grab it. Why not? There could be a million bucks inside, you never know. When the person discovered the rat inside the box, he found an officer parked near the I-395 ramp, and turned it over to the officer.

That cop, Officer Jordan Perry, took the rat to the Animal Control Officer, who coordinated with a local pet store, who will re-home the animal. Because, again, this was a pet rat. Not a pest. Even then, it's absolutely disgraceful to treat any animal so inhumanely. Even a nasty river rat deserves better treatment than this.

Police will almost definitely never find out who did this. And that's sad. Because this person probably doesn't have much regard for any kind of animal, and shouldn't be allowed to have any. But in the end, the rat was saved, and will be put into a home by someone who will care for it properly.

But seriously ... if you can't handle a pet, don't get one. If your kid can't handle a pet, don't give them one. Animals may not be people, but treating them like garbage is completely unacceptable. Simply ... Be kind to critters.