(CNN) -- Traditionally, you wouldn't gift someone a rat -- not someone you like, anyway. And even if a gift-wrapped rodent was in the cards, you'd likely shy away from the giant African pouched rat, which -- as the name suggests -- is rather large (think cat-sized). Tanzania-based NGO Apopo, however, thinks rats make excellent gifts. So much so that they've launched an adopt-a-rat program, which allows participants to sponsor the animal. "It's great for the giving season. It also works on Valentine's Day. Many people love to give their love, er, a rat," says Bart Weetjens, Apopo's founder. Despite the creatures' reputation for thieving and spreading disease, Weetjens has proven that rats can be every bit as heroic as people. Contrary to public opinion, rats can actually save lives -- Apopo's rats have actually saved thousands.
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NGO Apopo trains rats to scent detect landmines and TB
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Apopo has almost cleared Mozambique of landmines
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A rat can clear a space 50-times faster than a manual deminer
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A rat can sniff more TB samples in 10 minutes than a lab technician can analyze in a day
Since then, @placeholder has cleared the country of 6,693 landmines, 29,934 small arms and ammunition, and 1,087 bombs.
In 2011, the organization warned against blood testing for @placeholder for its inaccuracy.
Rats also have the advantage of being too lightweight to trip off a mine (@placeholder boasts zero casualties so far).