Urban ratters take to Sacramento streets with dogs to eradicate rats
SACRAMENTO -- When it gets dark and downtown Sacramento streets are mostly empty, every few weeks, you'll see a group huddled near bushes, plants, or vines of green. Get closer and you'll notice their headlamps, backpacks, and heads looking down to the true leaders of their work: the dogs.
With hands-on leashes, owners are guided by their dogs to areas of midtown and downtown where rats are nested. They are on the hunt, quite literally, as their ancestral breeds would've been.
This is The Sacramento Canines' Rat Annihilation Team (SCRAT): a group of volunteers and their fierce canine companions who spend a few hours in the dark hunting for rats in the city.
They are "urban ratters" and walk the streets of Sacramento with the goal of leaving the city better than they found it. At the same time, their pups get to do what they love.
I tagged along for the excursion. In about three hours, the group hunted three rats from Alhambra Boulevard to city hall.
Allie, Dagney, Kermit, Raven, and Toast were all led the way for their owners, who created this volunteer group over a year ago. It started as a way to exercise their dogs but transformed into a chance to do good in their community, according to Emily Iniguez, Raven the Patterdale Terrier's mom.
"Even though we're volunteering our time, having fun out here with our dogs, it's mutually beneficial," said Iniguez.
Most of the dogs in the group are hunting breeds. As Iniguez said, "It scratches an itch" to take them out ratting every so often.
On the night I tagged along, things started slow, but rarely does the team go home empty-handed. In the first hour, Kermit the Dachshund led the team to a rat in a car tire parked at a local grocery store. From there, they moved into midtown and downtown.
"Rats can produce hundreds of offspring in their lifetime, so we always say one rat counts just the same," said Iniguez.
City's plan to tackle rats
At Sacramento City Hall, people slept next to the building and on the street, feet away from multiple rats. SCRAT members say they get support from the people who live unhoused nearby, helping them find problem areas that are missed by rat traps.
The City of Sacramento has a nearly 70-page plan that outlines two pest management contracts. One contract totals $425,000 and the second contract is for $22,500. There are more than 125 locations serviced by the city, like community centers and fire stations, including city hall.
A city spokesperson wouldn't comment on whether there is a direct correlation between an uptick in vermin and the number of people who lived unhoused but told CBS13:
"It stands to reason that rats will congregate wherever there are sources of food for them. In addition, Sacramento is situated at the confluence of two rivers, and riverbanks are a natural habitat for rats."
SCRAT members look near large black rat traps that are purchased by both the city and private business owners. The group has been contacted by restaurants in Sacramento to help eradicate the rat population.
