http://www.chbcnews.ca/entertainment/Rejected+Calgary+return/2903154/story.html

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Rejected Calgary rat to return to B.C.

Richard Cuthbertson , Calgary Herald: Friday, April 16, 2010 8:02 PM

CALGARY — Matilda is a friendly little creature, but as a rodent in rat-free Alberta, she's living on borrowed time.

Matilda was recently turned over to Calgary animal services by a family who moved here from British Columbia.

Given the province's strident efforts to keep Alberta clear of the critters, one would think her fate would be death.

But the domesticated rodent is dodging euthanasia and is instead being deported back home to B.C.

Matilda the rat will soon board a plane in Calgary destined for Vancouver, according to the B.C. animal rescue agency that will take her in.

"This animal will be transported back by a volunteer, so there's absolutely no cost to the city of Calgary or the taxpayer on this one," said bylaw and animal services chief Bill Bruce.

Once she arrives at the rescue in B.C., Matilda will be quarantined and spayed, Bruce said.

One of the directors of the animal rescue group where Matilda is heading said it has given sanctuary before to rats from Calgary, and the group has a relationship with the city's animal services.

Simone Bur said the Vancouver-based organization doesn't have a shelter but relies on a number of rat-friendly homes.

Matilda, she said, will be placed with a new owner. "We're more than willing to help out and get her into safety," Bur said.

Bruce said the family who owned the rat learned the rodents were illegal here when news broke recently of a dead rat found in the northwest.

But after a door-to-dorr canvas of the neighbourhood, bylaw officers have solved that mystery.

"One resident . . . did confess that they had purchased these rats frozen from a pet store — which is perfectly legal — as food for their rather large snake," Bruce said. "But it wouldn't eat them. Hence they threw them out."

COMMENT TO PICTURE:

Rodents found in rat-free Alberta should find their way out of the province as soon as possible. One... — Matilda is a friendly little creature, but as a rodent in rat-free Alberta, she's living on borrowed time.