Working rat

Ed Kraszewski, spokesman for the task force, has said that the rats are easier and cheaper to train than dogs.

Their small size may be less threatening to some children, and therapy centers with limited space can easily house a few rats.

[7] Domestic rats have been trained as service animals, such as to identify damaging muscle spasms for people whose ability to sense this has been compromised by their disability;[8][9] domesticated rats can be more useful than service dogs for purposes such as these due to their small size and lack of aggression.

[10][11] A Belgian non-government organization, APOPO, trains Gambian pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus) to sniff out land mines and tuberculosis.

Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide commit to "adopt" rats and pay to support them.