Who?

I am Alison Campbell and this website is the home of the Shunamite rats and our own corner of the rat community. Shunamite is the breeding prefix by which my rats are known. I also have a line prefix - Tabi - which refers to any rat that has been bred from my established agouti line.

What?

Everything included here represents my own emphasis and personal vision. In re-designing this site (Autumn 2008) I have chosen to take an alternative approach. I hope that you will be able to “walk in my moccasins” and begin to understand why rats are so important to me, and why I choose to celebrate them in my own life.

Where?

I am based in the North East of England in North Tyneside. However, my rat-related activities have spanned pretty much the whole of the UK.

When?

My first encounter with a rat ‘in the fur,’ so to speak, was in May 1997, when I went with my then 7 year old daughter to buy a pair of rat kittens as her pets. It took me less than 10 minutes of sofa time with them to fall in love. That love affair has only deepened as I have grown in my own knowledge and understanding of these unique little creatures. Shunamite rats was born early in 2001, and became a registered stud (under NFRS rules) in the summer of 2004. The last few years have been a journey to the place I find myself today. The rest of this website will help you to understand where that is. I hope you enjoy it here as much as I do.

Why?

Always the most probing of questions. Why rats? Why breed them? Why rescue? Why the NERS? All of these questions and many more will be explored in the rest of this website. So for now I will just address two questions, “Why now?” and "Why Shunamite?"

Why a new direction now?
The past year has been a time of re-evaluation and change for me and I find myself in the position of wanting to reach for something different. I have never been very competitive or enchanted by the idea of winning shows. It’s taken a long time for me to acknowledge that it’s fine to have alternative reasons for breeding. I don’t know if my goals are realistic or not, but I am determined to learn all I can and to try to push the current ‘norms’ for health and longevity in rats.

Why Shunamite?
The Shunamite people were an ancient Hebrew people group who were reported to have been visited by a prophet who breathed new life into the dead body of a widow's only son. It's a story about restoring dead dreams and hope. To me the word has come to represent life and hopefulness and joy and my rats embody all of these things to me.

Acknowledgements

In the safety of my own space I would also like to acknowledge those human companions, without whom I wouldn’t have made it this far, or had the courage to reach beyond the readily achievable. The backbone people – Estelle, Ann S, Lisa G – who got me started and have many times stopped me from quitting and helped me become stronger. The heart people – Graham and Sandra, Deb and Ed, the Admin Team on FR, the NERS committee members (through the years), just about everyone called Katie or Alison (you know who you are) – who refined my vision and showed me what was really important. The head people – toyah, Graham, Ellie S, Julia, Alison Neo, Alison MR – who have challenged me all the way and really made me think beyond the obvious. The hands people – those who have taken our Shunamite babies over the years and shared their lives with them, many of whom we are proud to call friends - who made any of this possible. And the feet people – Gwen H, Katie G, Sue L, Lizzie, Anna G – who have walked alongside me through thick and thin, just being themselves. We so rarely get the opportunity to publicly say thank you – so, thank you! You all know I don’t really ‘do’ people... but you have all put up with me so well. Forever onwards and upwards.