White mice are just like members of the family for sixty five-year-old Manohar Hallur and his children of Mudhol town in Bagalkot district. All the six members of the family have developed a special bond with these pets, since they adopted them about one year back. The children enjoy the mice loitering around inside the house.
The house of Manohar has become a centre of attraction for school children who visit here during holidays to play with the mice. Manohar had brought two white rats last year from his relative in Hubli. Now the white rat family has grown to 25 in just eight months, with two-month reproductive cycle. While the family is looking after these rats with great love and affection, they plan to give away some of them to others as their number is growing rapidly. They have created a separate space and built a wooden cage for them.
The family feeds the micefirst before it sits down for meals. They bathe and shampoo the rats on alternate days. They feed the mice food grains, coriander and other vegetables and give medical care if any of these pets fall ill. Each member of the family keeps strict vigil to prevent the attack by the cats on these rats. “All my children and grand-children in the family and neighbours have emotional attachment with the white mice as they look beautiful. My granddaughter had wept for several days when a rat was killed by the cats. Therefore, we are looking after these pets just like members of our family,” elder of the family Manohar Hallur said.