HERCULES, THE MOUSE
Averil Jarvis MBE, founder and director, The Cinnamon Trust

I have eight dogs and love them all for different reasons. They’ve taught me more about life and love than any human could. One of my dogs brought me this tiny baby wood mouse which I thought was dead and put in the dustbin. Later, I went to throw something away and saw the mouse open its mouth. I couldn’t believe it. I took it out; it was blind in one eye and one front leg was dislocated badly. Using tweezers, I fed it oat flakes soaked in milk and, remarkably, it survived the night. There was only one name for this mouse - Hercules. The vet said nothing could be done for something so itsy bitsy so I brought Hercules home and someone I met on a walk made him a large oak house, with its own front door, dining room and bedroom.