Rat on a Cat on a Dog
The popularity of yesterday’s blog entry on rat surfers has led me to a quick conclusion: People LOVE RATS!!!
Given the immense popularity of rats, I’ve decided to dedicate the rest of this week’s blog entries to — you guessed it — stagnation and reform of the Ottoman Empire.
No, no — RATS! You know, those cute, fury, beady-eyed, disease carrying, trash eating rodents. So tune in here for all the latest on rats.
Now that you’re all excited about rats, here’s a couple of cool photos taken by Tribune photographer Joe Johnston. Check this out:
Pretty crazy, eh? Joe was in Santa Barbara about a year ago when he came across this guy, Greg Pike, hanging out with his stackable pets. As you might imagine, Pike has gotten a fair amount of attention with his unusual menagerie. As this video shows, lots of people like to take photos of the trio.
When asked how he was able to stack his pets, Pike says, “Animals are simple. People are complicated.”
Of course, he’s probably never seen the Peking Acrobats.
And, in case your’e wondering, the animals aren’t drugged, he says. They just really dig each other.
When I first saw this photo, I told Joe he should sell it to a tabloid. Or “People.” Or, I don’t know — is there a magazine for rat lovers?
How about “Cat, Dog, Rat” magazine?
According to this story, it took Pike about a year to stack three animals like this. And, according to Pike, there’s definitely a strategy, which includes the timing of gestation periods. 
Although it says Pike runs an animal shelter, he has traveled across the country with his dog, Booger, rat, Mousey and cat, Kitty. (Okay, so he’s not exactly a creative person. But, come on — he stacked a rat on a cat on a dog!)
His experiment, Pike has said, proves that “We can all get along.”
Of course, he probably never watched “Tom & Jerry.”
Photos: Joe Johnston