About Amaranthine Rodentry

Amaranthine Rodentry was established in May 2007, but no one knew about it until October 15, 2007 when the kennel name was officially submitted to the American Gerbil Society (AGS) and the website was launched. The Rodentry began on September 30, 2005 with the purchase of Bloo Q. Kazoo ("Bloo") and Frances Foster ("Frankie") from a pet store in Painesdale, MI. It was originally registered with the AGS as Silmataurea Kennels on November 9th, 2005, but when the kennel moved from Houghton, MI to Fort Atkinson, WI in May 2007 it was time for a change, and so Amaranthine Rodentry was born. The word Amaranthine has three meanings, among them is "Eternally beautiful and unfading; everlasting", and it is this definition which we had in mind when naming our kennel.

The "Help"

Sam is the head housekeeper for the residents of Amaranthine Rodentry. She takes care of the daily cleaning, feeding, treating, and other miscellaneous chores. She's also the founder of Amaranthine and the one who keeps bringing critters home. When she's not doing chores in the rodent room (fondly called "Rodentopia"), she's usually at her computer. Sam is an amateur web and graphic designer who maintains several sites, including Amaranthine-Rodentry.com. She's also a very active volunteer at the Humane Society of Jefferson County. Sam recently graduated from Michigan Technological University with a Bachelor's degree in Biology.

Nick can occasionally be found helping out at feeding time in Rodentopia, but he is more likely to be seen sneaking everyone extra treats or poking the chinchillas. In his free time Nick can usually be found playing some type of video game, watching the critters in his salt water aquarium, or planning to take over the world. Nick also recently graduated from Michigan Technological University with a Bachelor's degree in Finance and is setting his sights towards opening up a winery sometime in the next five years.

The "Sentinels"

Onyx is a two year old black domestic short hair male cat. He was adopted in July of 2005 from the Michigan Humane Society in Detroit, MI. He, along with his litter mates, were surrendered to the shelter because his former owner had too many pets. He was adopted as a spunky three month old kitten and was a 21st birthday gift for Nick. He enjoys laying down near the 90 gallon tank and simply watching the gerbils go about their business. He loves to go for walks around the house on his harness and absolutely hates car rides. He complains very loudly as soon as he realizes he's headed towards the car and doesn't stop until he's out of the car and out of the carrier. This made the 10 hour trip from Detroit, MI to Houghton, MI and the 6 hour trip from Houghton, MI to Fort Atkinson, WI especially pleasant.

Aelah is a four year old black domestic short hair female cat with white markings on her chest and stomach in the shape of a little bikini. She was adopted in August of 2007 from the Humane Society of Jefferson County where she had been surrendered after being found as a stray. She had been at the shelter for almost a year before we brought her home. Her age isn't known for sure, but the vet's estimate was somewhere in the four to eight year range, and since she is a lady, we decided to she'd rather be called four than eight. She's very, very cuddly and loves nothing more than to dig her claws into your neck while you pet her. She is the queen of the household as far as she's concerned. She'll give the other cats a piece of her mind if they even look at her wrong. Of all the cats, she spends the least amount of time in Rodentopia, but like Onyx, her favorite spot is lying in front of the 90 gallon and observing the gerbils. She much prefers her string, and will let you know when she's found one by meowing for about 15 minutes after she finds it, just to be sure you got the announcement.

Xephyr is a 8 month old black male kitten who was adopted from the Humane Society of Jefferson County in August 2007. He has two modes, he can either be a rambunctious, playful mischief-maker, or an adorable sleeping baby. He makes sure the other cats get their daily exercise by chasing them around the house each morning. He's still learning the rules of the rodent room and is only allowed supervised visits, but he's usually too busy trying to engage the older cats in play or chasing around a ball, scrap of paper, or bottle cap to really mind being shut out of the rodent room.