Omo… when it comes to animals, sometimes being too confident around them can come at your own peril. I have this rule that if I’m not familiar with the animal and if it’s not familiar with me, I will treat it like a wild animal. So, if I see a dog on the street, as long as it's not mine and I’ve not encountered the dog previously enough to know just what kind of a dog it is, then I’m going to assume it’s dangerous and stay away from it.
I’m not one of those people who will see a dog and just because it’s cute, try to pet it. That’s like a sure way to lose your hand. This is not just for dogs, but other animals as well. Cats and the like, as long as they’re not mine, I always make sure that they’re handled with care. No matter what.
So, have I ever been scared of an animal? Many times! I grew up with a lot of dogs in the compound, during our first days there, I was really terrified of the dogs. But eventually, I came to like them just as much as they came to like me. After all, it would be silly to live for years with a dog in your compound and still be scared of it, right?
However, what I’m about to tell you now is not about the time I was scared of a dog or a wild animal. It wasn’t even a snake. One time I was really terrified and I ran for my life was when I ran from a rat. Yeah, you read that right, but before you start laughing at me or anything, read this post to the end, will you?
It happened a long time ago though, this was back when I was in secondary school, so during my teenage years. I used to trek home with my friends back then and there was this area we used to pass. In some parts of the Mainland in Lagos State, there are some really good drainage systems. They have gutters that are quite deep. However, just as in the rest of Nigeria, not everywhere in Lagos has a good drainage system. So, it was usually only during the rainy season when there was any major ‘draining’ going on. On other days, it was always dry and dirty because the places that would have fed it dirty water were bad.
Anyway, these dry-ish ditches and gutters were the abode of these rats. Not just any rats, they were as big as a human foot and they could run so fast. Another thing about them was how they preferred to stay close to the wall. They always ran with their body against the wall, their snouts close to the ground and they made their way through all that dirt and murk.
They liked the dark, so the gutter was perfect for them. However, that fateful day, for some reason, one of them managed to get out of the gutter. And as I was walking down the road, it started running towards me. I already knew rats, most rats would run away from humans, it was part of their defense mechanism. However, this one was different. It was running straight for me, and I could also see that its teeth were bared as it ran toward me. For a second, I was sure that spittle was flying out of its mouth. At once, I turned and ran for my dear life. There was nothing normal about that rat and I wasn’t going to find out why.
I ran into a shop and the stupid rat chased me but before it could run into the shop with me, one of the uncles in the shop kicked it back. The rat flew back and slammed into the ground with a heavy thud. But it simply rolled to its feet once more and ran towards the shop once again. This time, toward the man who had kicked it. At that point, the man realized that it wasn’t a normal rat that we were dealing with. He immediately slammed the door shut and the rat started slamming its body against the door, over and over.
Not long after, it tried to run into another shop but people soon cornered it and began battering it with sticks and stones until it died. That was an intense moment and everyone was wondering what could possibly have come over the rat to act that way.
When I got home, I told my mom and she was the one who suggested that the rat could have been high on rabies. When animals get infected with rabies, they become extremely aggressive. Dogs, rats, what have you. And whoever they bite will also be infected, that’s just how dangerous it is. She went on to tell me about a friend from when I was a kid who had died from such a bite. It was also from an infected rat. He didn’t treat it on time and it led to his death.
Funny enough, I already knew of the friend, but back then I only knew that a rat bit him and he died. I had no idea that it was a rabid rat. So, when I saw that rat charging toward me, all I could think of was that it was coming to kill me. So, I ran. Thankfully, I didn’t get to know for sure.
Now, I never got to find out if the rat was actually rabid. My mom came to that assumption based on my account of what had happened. Personally, I believe the rat was rabid and was really going to attack me. If it had bitten me that day, I would surely have gotten rabies. But then, this is not a fact because I could have been wrong. It could have just been a rat who had listened to way too many motivational speeches and thought it could take on a human. Well, it was probably right because I ran like a baby!
Anyway, there is no way to know anymore. It’s all in the past now. The event left me really scared of rats to the point that I tried my best to make sure that they were not in my house. That is not always possible but I always find a way to get rid of them.
Anyway, since then, I’ve not seen another rabid rat and I’ve not run from any of them. When they see me now, they run for their lives. As it should be.
