Thank you for sharing these lovely memories! I have a similar story. I would have been under 8 years old when this occurred.
We came home to a white rat with red eyes huddled next to the door from the outside to the kitchen. Likely an escape or intentional release; definitely not wild. My mom fed it for a day and then brought it in. It lived in a fish tank with cedar (which is now forbidden in the world of keeping rats!) and was our pet. Name was Rat and the presence of him in the house really bothered my relatives. He ate spaghetti, slept all day and NEVER used his wheel, and lived out the rest of his life with us.