ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: Meet Benny.

(crunching noises) He really loves a crunchy snack.

A rolling ball.

And some smooches.

(kissing noises) Now, this is Maisy.

She's a bit more shy, but shell poke her head out for a finger full of peanut butter.

Oops, there's Benny.

He loves peanut butter, too.

And if you haven't already figured it out.

These are rats.

And this is Lena.

She's their fur mom.

She's also the adoption coordinator for Second Chance Heroes, a rat adoption organization based in Richmond.

LENA MAURER: They, you know, they get a bad rap for being, like, creepy.

But theyre so much beyond that.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: Domesticated rats are commonly called fancy rats.

And Lena says they make great pets.

LENA MAURER: They have all the best things of cats and dogs.

I feel like they are clean, like a cat.

They kind of take baths, with varying levels of success.

You can teach them to go in a litter box.

They can learn tricks like dogs.

They love you like dogs.

They are just like, small and sweet and they all have such big personalities.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: She keeps Maisy and Benny in what must seem like a rat mansion.

Some cages, empty boxes, cat stands, and of course, a wheel.

LENA MAURER: Oh, Maisy!

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: Pretty nice digs.

Especially considering where many of her rat rescues come from.

LENA MAURER: So we take in rats directly from labs when they're like, done with them.

Better than the alternative.

And we also take in rats directly from other shelter partners who, like I said, they don't necessarily know what to do with the rats that they get.

And so they reach out to us, because we specialize in rats.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: Once the rats have been rescued, Second Chance Heroes relies on a network of foster homes to care for the animals until they can be adopted.

Maurer says she's expecting an influx of rat rescues from scientific research labs because of federal funding cuts.

LENA MAURER: You know, some of these labs have very high numbers of rats, and if they are interested in working to rehome the amount of preparation needed for that, you know, can entail months of reaching out to various rescues and groups and shelters and seeing what they can do.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: Maurer says these furry creatures are a great addition to any home.

LENA MAURER: They're so cute.

They have little tiny hands and they take their food and they go (munching noises) (crunching noises) They make the cute little noises.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: That's why Maurer hopes more people will consider rat adoption LENA MAURER: By caring for a rat you make so much more of a difference because so many people don't care for the rats.

ADRINNE HOAR McGIBBON: A sad addendum to our rodent tale.

Precocious little Benny passed away unexpectedly a few weeks after our interview.

Wishing you snack filled dreams, sweet Benny.

Adrienne Hoar McGibbon, VPM News.