Inner South Veterinary Centre is very proud to support Mojo a HeroRat from Mozambique. Here is his latest news bulletin. It looks like his training is going well and that he is working very hard!
Dear Friend,
Greetings from Morogoro! The weather is getting warmer here and I am looking forward to the new season. Now that I have adjusted to working outside, I love looking out to the mountains as I wriggle my paws in the dirt. That is all before I get to work of course-then I am all business!
I am pleased to share with you that I have passed beyond the very beginning stage of landmine training where I had to sniff out the tea eggs that were buried in soil. Now I get to travel out to the field with my trainers. In the field I search for real landmines that have been buried for me to train with but don’t worry, they are all deactivated! They just still have the smell of TNT for me to detect. I did so well in the field that I’ve already passed two tests. Now I am working in my largest space yet- a five meter box! If I do really well here, I move to the more advanced and exciting stages of training.
It is so much fun going back and forth on my harness hunting for the smell of TNT. And I really do love the taste of the avocado and banana mash Shirima my trainer feeds me when I discover a mine. It makes me want to work even harder. He laughs when I keep trying to work even after all of the mines have been discovered!
I overheard the trainers as we were packing up after training the other day. They say if I keep up the good work, I will be deployed to Angola! APOPO begins operations there at the end of this year and they need the best performers to sniff out all the landmines there. I am so excited at the thought of going to another country! I do have some time first- I need to pass all of my tests.
These last few weeks I had to have a few more visits from the dentist for my bad tooth. I wasa little nervous at first about these visits from the doctor but I have been brave and my teeth are so much better now! I hear you humans are always scared to visit the dentist, but it really was not all that bad. And when I sit very still and let the dentist examine me, Shirima gives me an extra treat.
Well, it’s getting late in the afternoon now and it’s time for me to go to bed. We HeroRATs are nocturnal so I am quite sleepy once I finish my morning training. Thank you again for all your support. I am still sending my gRATitude your way. I’ll keep you posted on my progress!
Love and whiskers,
What a brave little rat, doing such an important job. Our very own rat dentist, Dr Louise Grey would have been proud to look after Mojo.