This is Toffee, my 'computer mouse'. The computer screen fascinates him and he sits on my hat or shoulder and stares at it constantly like he's watching television.
He is only tiny but brave and believes he is Mighty Mouse. He chases my big pet rats away and bites them. We call him the Rat Killer.
He is good company. He doesn't talk but seems to convey messages to you with his eyes and facial expressions. When he's happy or excited you can feel him throbbing in your hand like a mobile phone.
I feel sorry for him because he's such a tiny thing in a big bad world and yet he maintains a strong personality and determination.
Even a little mouse has feelings of affection, much like all animals. Like us they feel fear and pain, pleasure and
joy. They also have intelligence, sometimes at a surprisingly high level.
Another thing I've noticed about mice and rats is how clean they are. Like most animals they wash and preen themselves regularly - more so than some humans I know.
The sad thing is that rats and mice don't have long lives. Their metabolisms operate much faster than ours, like their time on this earth has been accelerated.
So I treasure my precious time with them and try to give them happy and loving lives. In the world outside they call them vermin. Rats and mice are disliked, killed and fed to snakes. People have been brainwashed about them and other animals but hopefully one day they'll see that life is precious and even a little mouse deserves its day.
