Kathleen wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>
>> Kathleen wrote:
>>
>>> Sky wrote:
>>>
>>>> modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Mice.
>>>>>
>>>>> It's become modom's house o' mouse. Became such in a matter of a
>>>>> couple of days. Mouseless to mouse-o-rama in not more than 48 hours.
>>>>>
>>>>> D and I hauled all the drygoods and other comestibles out of the
>>>>> pantry yesterday to clean off the shelves and better seal the food
>>>>> away from pests. Everything is in plastic containers.
>>>>>
>>>>> Today I went out to buy mouse traps. Went to the local hardware
>>>>> store. Went to Wal Mart. Went to another local store. Ran out of
>>>>> stores.
>>>>>
>>>>> There are no mouse traps in Cow Hill. They're all sold. A nice old
>>>>> geezer stocking the shelves at the local "hardware and feed" place
>>>>> told me he can't keep them. Puts 'em out, and they're gone. He also
>>>>> said mice ate the wiring around his car's engine.
>>>>>
>>>>> Appears we have ourselves a plague.
>>>>>
>>>>> I wonder if they'll eat the Tupperware?
>>>>> --
>>>>>
>>>>> modom
>>>>> ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Get a cat or two? Perhaps that might help? Just a suggestion <g>.
>>>
>>>
>>> We are currently dealing with our annual autumn mouse invasion. In
>>> addition to traps all over the place, you'd think the JRT might be of
>>> some use. But no. He set off a trap in the pantry a couple of years
>>> back and now associates the smell of rodents with nasty things that
>>> go SNAP.
>>>
>>> Weekend before last I was wakened by a clanking sound. I remember
>>> being annoyed that somebody had left the dishwasher open and one of
>>> the dogs was licking the dirty dishes. Until I took inventory and
>>> realized that all three of the dogs were already in bed with me.
>>>
>>> I ventured down the hall and found one of the biggest mice I've ever
>>> seen with its front leg caught in one of the Black Cat mouse traps in
>>> the pantry. The clanking I'd heard was the mouse dragging the damned
>>> trap around.
>>>
>>> While I was pondering what to do about the not-mortally-wounded
>>> rodent another mouse ran over my foot and climbed the shelves on the
>>> inside of the pantry door.
>>>
>>> I admit it. I screamed. Not long, and not loud, and most of the
>>> noise came out through my nose when I clamped my hand over my mouth.
>>> Even so, it woke my 13 year-old son, who came on the run to see what
>>> the excitement was about. I pointed out the mouse on the spice rack
>>> and he ran to get his airsoft BB gun.
>>>
>>> Meanwhile, the JRT has fled the scene and is peeking around the
>>> corner, waiting for something to go SNAP, the male BC is looking for
>>> a reason to bite the JRT, and the female border collie is conducting
>>> a short-range olfactory inspection of the trapped rodent. She's got
>>> her nose pressed right up against the thing and is making noises like
>>> she's trying to snort him like a line of colombian flake.
>>>
>>> Dear son arrives with the BB gun and squeezes off a shot that knocks
>>> the mouse off the shelf and sends it running for shelter on the
>>> floor. A second shot ricochets off a bottle of vietnamese cinnamon
>>> and stings me on the leg. The JRT's prey drive is finally triggered
>>> and he launches himself at the mouse, and the male BC, in full-on fun
>>> police mode, lunges at the terrier.
>>>
>>> In the confusion, that mouse escapes unscathed while I'm breaking up
>>> the dog fight. Meanwhile, the female BC has picked up the trap and
>>> the trapped mouse and is heading down the hall to my bedroom to
>>> conduct her experiments in private.
>>>
>>> I catch up with her before she makes it onto the bed and I confiscate
>>> trap and the still live rodent.
>>>
>>> So now what? How am I supposed to kill this thing? I try dropping
>>> him, trap and all, in the toilet to try to drown him but he's a big
>>> mouse and only pinned by one leg so he's able to tread water and keep
>>> his nose above the surface. So I find a tall pitcher, fill it with
>>> water and drop him in there. Better. He's submerged. I set the
>>> pitcher on the floor, and, unwilling to watch him drown, I retreat to
>>> the kitchen.
>>>
>>> Minutes later, to my absolute horror, I hear sloshing and splashing.
>>> I slink down the hall, afraid I've wandered into some sort of
>>> Twilight Zone experience only to find the female BC, carrying the
>>> trap and by now thoroughly drowned rodent, on her way down the hall
>>> to the bedroom. When I insist, she relinquishes her prize and I carry
>>> it back to the bathroom where she watches as I open the trap and dump
>>> the dead mouse into the toilet. Surf's up, little dude.
>>>
>> I'm amazed by the shenanigans to get rid of a few rodents. For only
>> $100.00 a day plus meals, lodging, and travel, I will rent out Tilly
>> Dawg, the famous Rat Terrier. Tilly was only four months old when she
>> presented me with a full grown field rat she caught out by the
>> greenhouse. She got lots of loving and a couple of treats and patrols
>> the property on a routine basis now. Since that time she has caught
>> two squirrels and nearly got a feral cat. The cat escaped by climbing
>> a tree and Tilly tried to give chase but couldn't get up more than a
>> couple of feet. Right now she's trying to tree an anole lizard that
>> got in the house somehow and I'm discouraging that act as we like our
>> bug-eaters.
>
> Cooper taught the BCs to hunt rabbits and to date, his kills outnumber
> theirs by around 10 to one. He also chased a tree bunnie (squirrel)
> nearly 15 feet up a tree before falling back in a Wile E. Coyote moment
> that occurred when he suddenly looked down.
>>
>> Of course you will have to sign a waiver that we are not responsible
>> for any damage caused by a terrier tearing around trying to get a
>> rodent. Her real, registered name is Tilly Runamok and is hard to
>> control once the chase starts.
>
> Sounds good. Only you'll have to sign a waiver as well, relinquishing
> custody of Tilly if she decides to sign on as a flyball dog and earthdog
> extraordinaire.
>
> Tilly sounds like an awesome little dog. You should look into local
> earthdog events.
>
My old rat terrier and I belonged to a local earthdog group but the
competition was ferocious and Sleepy was frightened by all the whooping
and hollering. Left to her own devices she could get into the center den
in a phenomenal time but the noise put her off. She had always been
frightened by loud noises but, strangely, thunder didn't bother her. She
died of cancer on 09/24/07 and her ashes are scattered around her
favorite nap tree in the backyard. She was 11 1/2 years old and was a
staunch friend. Tilly is working up to be more of the same but we
despaired at first.