Book excerpt: When Petey is born, he is a normal, healthy rat with two round, dark ruby eyes. Life is good, and he is happy. Then, things begin to change and his eyes are opened to a different side of life. Petey and his siblings find themselves at a pet store waiting patiently for someone to adopt them. But one day, a huge fight breaks out in the rat bin, and Petey is severely injured. Hes worried about whats going to happen to him; he certainly does not want to end up as a feeder rat. Then, through a strange twist of fate, Petey finds a new home with a loving family. Its an adoption that changes all of their lives. Based on true events, Petey the One-Eyed Rat is a tale of love, loyalty, despair, faith, and courage. It is a story of serendipitythe amazing way that paths cross unexpectedly to create powerful, unlikely connections such as the one between Kim, the psychologist, and Petey, the one-eyed rat.