EEEK!

I saw a mouse today. My heart stopped. And I have to admit, I wanted to scream. But, I kept my composure and just walked to the opposite side of the kitchen. Ok, maybe I didn't walk, it was more of a scamper. Regardless, I made enough noise for it to dart back into the gap between the kitchen cabinet and the wall. It was gray, furry and looked harmless enough. But there's just something nerve racking about seeing something unexpected run across your floor. It would be nice if it could talk and give me cooking recipes like the mouse in the movie Ratatouille. But something tells me that's not likely to happen. I guess it's time to call the exterminator.

I never had to call the exterminator before. Living in the city, I always saw signs in alleys about closing the lids of dumpsters to prevent rats. And I've seen plenty of rats on the streets, scurrying across dumpsters and jumping in and out of sewers when it's raining. But, they never came into my apartment before. That was the one advantage of living in the city. There was enough food out on the streets for them to stay outside, as oppose to inviting themselves into your abode.

Well hopefully Mr. Mouse will stay hidden and won't come out to play again. Perhaps he''ll mistaken our dog Hank for a cat and not want to roam around out in the open. He's fluffy enough and does indeed have cat-like tendencies. I think I now know what costume to get Hank for Halloween.



Update from yesterday: We came home after the movies and Hank was growling and barking at something in the living room. He found a mouse and it was scared stiff in the middle of the living room floor with no where to run. My husband Andrew managed to trap it in a bowl and he relocated it outside. About 20 minutes later, Hank was still wondering around the perimeter of the room, sniffing and searching for what we thought was the vacated mouse's scent. But, sure enough, another mouse came scrambling out from behind the bookshelf. Once again, Andrew trapped and released it. Shortly thereafter, Hank was lying by the TV with his head wedged under the media center. He was relentless! We moved the TV and there again stuck among the cable wires was yet another mouse. Catch and release part 3. Now, before I was totally joking about my dog's cat-like tendencies. But, I was amazed at his ability to hunt down all the mice! After mouse #3 was caught, he simply climbed on the couch and began snoozing away since his job was done. Just goes to show that cockapoos are amazing dogs.

Hank and his girlfriend