Goober was born in a school science lab late one Spring.  On the last day of school Goober went home to live with me.  My mom was not too sure about having a Hooded Rat live in the house, but I insisted.  We got Goober a cage to live in which was kept in my room.  Goober had a brown head, white body and a brown stripe down his back.  When I was home, I would open Goober’s cage and so he could explore the house.  My mom recalls hearing Goober running down the stairs to see what everyone was doing.   Goober liked to hide under the couch and watch everyone walk by. 

When I was in my room reading a book or watching TV, I would share crackers with Goober.  Goober had figured out that if he collected the crackers while he could, he could enjoy eating them at night.  When it was time to go to bed, I would tell Goober to go to his cage.  Goober learned to close the cage door by himself, but I would make sure it was latched.  I would smile in the dark listening to Goober chew the crackers. 

Goober would ride on my shoulder as I played in the yard, my brothers and I built a tree house, explored the woods behind the house and made trails to ride our bikes.  Goober liked to ride on my shoulder where ever I went. 

When the weather was bad, I loved to play with Hot Wheel cars but Goober did not care for that so he would explore the house.  When my brothers and I would build a fort inside the house Goober was helping out, at least he thought he was. 

When school started back up in the Fall, Goober could not wait for me to get home.  I would ride my bike while Goober rode on my shoulder. 

The picture above is not Goober, but is what he looked like.