Rat Wins Award for Animal Bravery

photo credit: Richard Quick

I’ve often mentioned the book, “Kinship With All Life” by J. Allen Boone. Its principles are dear to my heart and, I feel, pertinent in our daily lives. A story has recently come to us about a rat in Cambodia. Rats have often gotten a bad rap, as they are thought of as dirty and creepy, yet those who live with them report something entirely different. They are reportedly smart and affectionate, almost as easily trained as dogs. Recently a little rat named Magawa has won a British charity’s award for animal bravery. For the past seven years, he has been finding unexploded bombs in Cambodia. These land mines are a serious problem in 59 countries, with more than 7,000 deaths occurring in 2018 because of people stepping on them. The award this rat received has only gone to dogs in the past, but a rat can safely discover more mines because he is light enough to not set them off when sniffing them out. So here’s to new ways of doing things, and a big shout out to Magawa and the Belgiums who trained him for this most important mission!

"All of God's creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible. A realization of this grand verity was a source of strength in the ancient worthies." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 514:29