In my view, mice are simply small, four-legged critters, looking for food and shelter and a place to raise their young.

I can understand the dislike farmers have had for mice, who will not only eat grain stored up for the winter, but will nest in it, too, thus fouling it to a greater extent than just what they eat.

And I can understand some people who feel that mice are dirty. They run along close to the ground, as do cute little ferrets, and they are attracted to trash if it's not in a covered bin.

Dogs are attracted to refuse also and are perfectly happy to be carrion eaters. They even like to clean out the litter box. But we don't accord dogs the same rejection and sense of horror. I wonder why.

Maybe it's because they're not house broken, and leave a trail of mouse droppings. So do birds, but we don't excoriate them for it. Unless the droppings land on the laundry drying on the line.

Furthermore, whatever mice do, it's not out of a malevolent will, but simply from the demands of survival instincts. So I keep them out of my house, my trash is firmly secured, my food up high and in containers.

Anyway, I don't have an animus against mice. Just scorpions.*shudder*