Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Escape from the rat trap
Awoman overcame a crippling fear of rodents after being forced to hold a monster rat.
Louise Donkin, 28, confronted her phobia in Tanzania, where the giant creatures are used as lifesavers.
Call centre worker Louise, from Edinburgh, travelled to Africa to work with APOPO, a charity trying to wipe out tuberculosis and landmines.
Giant African pouched rats have a highly sensitive sense of smell and are trained to detect bacteria and explosive TNT. But they can grow to 3ft, nose to tail – quite a test for someone like Louise.
She works for the People’s Postcode Lottery, which funds APOPO, and had won her place on the memorable trip.
Louise said: “I have been terrified of rats for years. The CEO of the charity was enthusiastically telling me about how brilliant they are and I didn’t have the heart to put a downer on everything by mentioning my rodent phobia. So I realised I would have to face my fear.”
Within minutes of arriving, a rat called Lukaku was thrust towards Louise by one of the staff. She added: “Every part of me was screaming ‘No!’ but I didn’t want to admit being a wimp, so I took the beady-eyed, snuffling bundle into my arms.
“It was about the size and weight of a sausage dog, with a long wormy tail which seemed to have a mind of its own and coiled itself around my arm.”
Despite desperately wanting to drop it, Louise put on a brave face and told the team her new furry friend was “cute”.
SCUTTLING
And after seeing the impressive creatures in action, she was won over – and became able to handle them without fear.
Louise – whose fear of rodents goes back to her days of sharing a mice-ridden flat – admitted: “I didn’t really think it was cute at all, but what else could I say?
“They’re really clever and so quick to learn. If I saw a mouse scuttling across my living room now, I wouldn’t be so scared.
“Mind you, if a rat the size of Lukaku appeared in my kitchen,
I don’t think I’d be so brave!”