HELLO HAROLD
Harold showed up every evening, making sure the dogs and I were asleep. The silly mouse left messages of mouse poop to assure me he had been here. That was not a smart thing to do. Otherwise he was a cautious fellow.
A friend suggested I try a glue trap to catch Harold. I had some already and set one out with a snack of cheese in the middle of the glue. The next morning there was Harold, stuck like a bug. Sadly my friend did not mention how I might remove a stuck mouse from the glue. So I went to another friend...Google. Meanwhile I had removed Harold trap and all, to the trash ben outside.
The first advice from Google was not to pick up trap and mouse with my bare hands. It was important to avoid the HantaVirus. Oops too late I had already handled both with my bare hands. Back in my home I wandered around thinking of the stuck live Harold and my heart raced. I could not just leave him there to die. There was a suggestion from Google that I use some form of oil to massage on him. How could I do that without catching he Hantavirus?
I grabbed a bottle of Olive oil and headed for the trash ben, offering to Harold the assurance that help was on the way. Bless his little heart, he was struggling so, trying to escape the glue. I squirted the olive oil on him and he began to squirm harder. I got my long grabber and held on to Harold trying to shake him loose.
Harold was free from the glue pad but held tightly in the jaws of my grabber. Google had also suggested the once he was free, not to release him close to home or he would return to the place he knew best. I ran with Harold to the back of our ten acre field and shook him off. He ran with joy and I was sure he was smiling and singing Born Free.
GOODBYE HAROLD
Your compassionate nature is revealed! I hope Harold takes the hint and doesn't come back.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reading my story Debra. I can count on you to follow me. My sister and my daughter loved this true tale.
DeleteI hope Harold takes this as a warning and stays out of the house.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was rats that had the virus. I hope Harold stays away.
ReplyDeletePoor Harold, what an ordeal!
ReplyDeleteI had used several box traps to catch mice that were grateful to be released in the woods at my old home. One kitty was not sufficient to get them all.
In that neighborhood they are still over run with rodents since Covid time.
So many folks just kill them dispassionately, without respect.
I believe mice are amazing. They scale walls, survive in harsh conditions, raise 20 kids at a time, and will stand up to the largest creature when necessary.
They are also a main food source for many other creatures like owls, hawks, cats, and snakes.
Probably dying quick may be preferable for them ...
So few can relate to wanting them to survive.