At the stables

Today I went to the August Krogh Institute to be introduced to the experiment I'm going to complete after Easter. First, we got a brief update on the procedure, and then we went down to the stables where the laboratory animals are kept. I'm not going to say that I was surprised because you can't really be surprised when you have no idea what to expect - but I tell you, those rats were HUGE!!! They were the size of my underarm (the size of my ENTIRE arm if you include the tail). It first the thought was frightening. The fact that I am going to handle those animals still feel a bit weird but not frightening anymore. The rats are adorably cute - not gross at all. They just look like oversized mice. And we all know that mice are cute.We were told that before injecting them we are to pet them and talk to them. I'm a bit against the injections but it's merely because I have to do it and I'm afraid that I won't be able to and therefore hurt the rat. Because I know that otherwise it doesn't hurt them one tiny bit (just a piece of information for you out there who are now cursing my soul on behalf of laboratory animals).Hugz from animal-lover AND biochemist,