Suntran Chronicles

The Suntran, Tucson city bus system, is now my major form of transportation for going to work. It is inexpensive, easy and convenient since I happen to live in an area where there is frequent buses and several options. Going to work I take the number 5 bus that goes up Pima Street. Going home I take the number 9 bus that goes from the UofA Mall to Campbell and then to Grant Boulevard. One day as taking the bus home, it stopped at the corner of Grant and Swan. There is a Petsmart store on this corner, and a young boy, probably about twelve years old got on the bus with a small pet box, pet carrier. He was at the front of the bus and I was towards the back, so I could not see what was in the box that he opened and showed to the people around him, who looked in the carrier with interest. He got off the bus with the carrier at the Craycroft stop, which was my stop also. An hour or so later I went to the Seven-Eleven store and the corner of Pima and Craycroft to get a movie from the Red Box. When I got there I saw that there was no longer a Red Box at that location. However, I noticed outside the front door of the store that there was a small pet carrier just like the one I saw the boy with on the bus. I went in the store, the only person there was the person working, and I pointed out the box. We went outside and opened the box, inside was a black and white rat, looking perfectly healthy and curious. A women who was coming to the store looked in the box, ”Rats are the best pets. I’ve had lots of them and they are great.” The Seven-Eleven clerk looked at her, “Do you want it?” However she explained she didn’t have her cages any longer so couldn’t. The clerk and I talked about what to do, and I suggested he call the Humane Society and they would pick it up. He said he knew who the Society was and would do that. Walking home, it occurred to me that while I never had bought a pet at Petsmart, it made sense that they would keep records of who bought what animal there. To follow up with any issues and for marketing of course. At home I called the Petsmart and eventually got connected to Vicky, store manager. I told her the story and she understood exactly what I was talking about. She put me on hold and came back a few minutes later. She found the record for the rat, had the boys name but not his phone number. But she said “I will send one of my guys over to pick it up and bring it back to the store. Thanks for looking out for animals like this!” I told her I would call the Seven-Eleven and tell the guy not to call the Humane Society and that someone would be picking up the rat. I called and tried to explain the situation, the clerk then said to me “Come pick up your rat!” was all he could say. I stopped trying to explain about Petsmart. “Someone’s on the way” and hung up the phone. Thinking this was the end of this I started to make something to eat. Twenty minutes later the phone rang, it was Vicky from Petsmart. “My guy is at the CircleK on Pima and can’t locate the rat.” “No, not the CircleK, it’s at the Seven-Eleven on Pima and Craycroft.” “Oh, okay.” I hung up from that conversation and started to laugh. I was just imagining the Petsmart employee going into the CircleK and telling them he was there to pick up the rat. Of course they would have no idea what he was talking about. Thirty minutes went by and Vicky called again. “Garry I just wanted you to know that everything has worked out. We have the rat back here in the store. We found his phone number because he used a Petsmart members card when buying the rat. We called and talked to his grandma, she told us he already had a guinea pig, find another home for the rat.” So apparently his thought when he brought home the unwanted rat was to leave it at the Seven-Eleven so that someone would take it to a good home. And it did work out for the rat.