My mother hates rodents in general. I managed to get her to adore my guinea pig, Angus. She cried right along with me when he died. They're good to introduce to people, because they're not as rodent-like as some others. Introduce your dad to a rodent or rodents that are good pets already, though. Ya know? Like don't just take him to the pet store. My mother wouldn't hold my rats, Gwynnie (RB rat) and Luli, but, she liked them enough to touch them and to not be grossed out by them. Is he really afraid or does he just not like them? I mean, some people are just mostly grossed out by the tails. Like rats, mice, gerbils....