Woman grooms rats for living

LA VERNE, Calif. (AP) – Karri Garrison is getting rid of that cliche about dirty rats – one rodent at a time.

Grooming isn’t just for dogs anymore, and many pet owners are bringing in their rats to groomers like Garrison, who uses waterless shampoo to make their coats shine and smell sweet.

Customers at Katie’s Pet Depot in La Verne, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, began requesting rat grooming soon after the store opened nearly two years ago. Employees began researching rats and even adopted some.

“We need to be there for all our clients,” Garrison said. “I think we might be the only place around that grooms rats.”

One of the clients was named Jewel, a half-pound, white-and-yellow hooded rat owned by a local high school student. The $10 treatment included clipping her claws, spraying her with the waterless shampoo, and using a product that kills fleas and mites.

Researcher plans fatty fish study

OSLO, Norway (AP) – Can fatty fish fight crime?

Norwegian researcher Anita Lill Hansen wants to know if there’s a connection between eating oily fish and controlling violent outbursts.

Hansen is planning a study that involves giving a fish-heavy diet to prisoners who volunteer for the project, the ANB news agency reported Friday.

The research is being planned in cooperation with the national center for seafood research and the Norwegian prison authorities in western Norway.

“A lot of crimes are committed on impulse,” Leif Waage, a prison service spokesman told ANB. If fatty oil found in fish “has a positive effect on people’s impulse control, we hope it could result in a reduction in crime.”

Waage said depending on the outcome of the study, Norwegian prisoners could face a lot more fatty fish on their dinner plates.

Hansen said earlier studies have indicated a link between the human heart rate and a person’s ability to plan their actions, and that omega-3 fatty acid, a fish fat extract, is good for the heart.

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