[Dailydrool] Doggie doors and Rat-tailaban relocation

[Val Brewer]

Aargh--we have discovered a new animal has learned how to use our doggie door 
(no, not Ruby the chihuhua, who is still a regular drop-in visitor here)--a big 
brown rat! We have the dog bowls on the screened porch where the doggie door is, 
and I guess that even though the bowls are always empty within seconds of meals 
served, there must be a lingering aroma. Last night Bo asked for a midnight 
snack (which he generally does as soon as all our lights go out), so he and I 
walked to the dog bowls with about a tablespoon of kibble, and flipped on the 
lights. What should be sitting in the dog bowl but a huge rat who went flying 
through the dog door to the yard. Bo didn't even blink. He is not a hunter. And 
Harley, who zonks out early and sleeps through the night, didn't rouse either. 
Rat-tailaban alert!!

I confess. I have a soft spot for furry animals--even rats and mice. We had a 
lot of them on Oahu and I learned to recognize a few different ones that dined 
at the bird feeder--I gave them names. There was Algernon and Rattigan, but I 
digress. Rats in the house is another story (and our beloved elderly cat passed 
away before we moved here). So today my DH started our new "rat relocation" 
program (kind of like the Federal Witness Protection program. We bought a "have 
a heart" trap and set it tonight. If we catch Mr. Brown, my husband will drive 
him to the federal park a few miles away and release him. I am just hoping that 
Ruby the chihuahua is too big to fit in the trap herself. My DH just laughs. His 
nickname for Ruby is "rat-face".


      
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