Back when I was about 8 years old. My sister and I caught a bunch of mice that we found in grain sacks. We kept them in an old aquarium with a hardware cloth lid on the back porch and played with them everyday. Being wild mice, they bit us a lot but we didn't mind all that much. This kept up for over a week until one night at the supper table my mom saw my sisters hands and asked why her hands were all scarred up with little cuts. My sister then spilled the beans about the mice. We knew that Mom and Dad would be mad because they had warned us before about the dangers of keeping wild animals as pets. Dad said that he wanted these mice so that he could bring them in and have them tested for rabies. I didn't want my pet mice to be hurt so I ran back to the porch and let them all go.

The next day at the Dr's office it was decided that as a precaution, my sister and I should undergo the 14 day treatment for rabies. 14 shots in the stomach. 7 up one side and 7 down the other side. One every day for the next 2 weeks. It was very painful not only from the shots but because of the swelling from the vaccine. Thanks to that swelling, I had a pretty impressive looking six pack for a second grader, but man did it hurt. My sister had a reaction to getting the shots in her stomach so they finished off the series in her hip. She could barely walk until at least a week after they were done.

I still don't hate mice. But ever since then I've really never felt that fond of them either. Rats are OK, but they're little pooping and peeing machines and I've never really considered them to be companion animals. I've got a Dog and a Cat and Several birds that show plenty of affection and are part of the family. I really don't need to add any rodents to that list.

Mark