Pete and the Rat

I've had kind of a...weird night. So I wanted to share some thoughts. I was at work tonight when I heard a little rustling in the office. I didn't think much of it, until it happened a few more times. It was coming from the cubicle next to mine which was unoccupied. I took a closer look to find...a rat. A rat caught in one of those sticky traps. Its like a giant piece of flypaper for rats. The idea being that the rat gets caught and then eventually dies of starvation or thirst. I can only imagine that it must be for people who really aren't interested in the efficient elimination of pests, but want the animal to REALLY suffer before it dies. Had I known the trap was in the office, I would have thrown it away while no one was looking. But here we were, me and the rat. As I approached, he squealed. Both his back legs and his front legs were caught in the trap, also one side of his face. His little black eye, staring at me pleading as his struggling dug him deeper into the sticky trap. Not on my shift. I picked up the trap, rat and all and brought it over to the sink we have in our office. My idea was to run water over his legs where they were caught in an effort to dissolve the glue holding him in. It actually worked a little bit, but would have taken forever with all four legs. Plus it pissed the rat off really good. So I got the scissors at the near by desk and carefully used the blades to dig his paws out of the glue. He had managed to free his head himself. We were in this together now. When I had his back legs free and was able to keep him from getting them restuck I realized that as soon as I freed his front legs he was gonna bolt. And I'd have a sticky rat running around my office. I did the rest of the job over a nearby trash can. I little hair trim here a little careful prying there and he was free and at the bottom of a trash can. A little sticky, but seemingly no worse for the wear. I carefully removed the little bit of trash in the can and took the rat outside in the bag to release him.
Here's the thing. When I got outside there were a bunch of members of our event services crewa few feet from my office. As I carried the bag containing my little friend to a suitable release area, I prayed no one would ask me what I was doing. I was embarassed at having rescued the rat from the trap. I could hear the question in my head, "Why?". Aren't rats supposed to be filthy disease carrying pests? But thats not what I had seen. I'd seen an animal, suffering, a suffering that wasn't going to end anytime soon. (How long do think it takes a wild animal to starve to death, they practically live in a state of starvation.) I believed I had done the right thing, the humane thing, the compassionate thing. And yet, I was embarassed for having done it. At least in front of other people. Why? Why do I play down my beliefs around people with LOUDER opinions? Why do I want to tell my bosses that I refuse to work in an office where I might at some point encounter trapped suffering animals starving to death but know that I won't? Anyway, nobody asked me what I was doing and I let the rat go in some bushes. I don't know if he can live with sticky shit all over his feet and face. Maybe that stuff is poisonous and he's dead already, but at least I gave him a chance.
The other thing that really bothers me is that I found that trap right under someone's desk. I wonder if she knewit was there. I wonder if she volunteered to have it put there. To what end? She wouldn't come back to work until tuesday, and to find a rotting rat carcass? I don't know. I don't know what else to say. I find cruelty to animals one of the worst traits in the human being. The fact that some people take pleasure in it sickens me. I know, I'm a hippocrit because I eat meat. I'm still struggling with that one. I imagine that at some point I will have had enough and become a vegan. But I'm tired of being shy about what I believe in. I'm tired of staying quiet in a room full of outspoken republicans. I want to tell anyone who says they hunt for fun, that I think they are wrong. It's something to work on.