We all have a story or two about a confrontation with a mischief of mice, or just one.
The saga of the oven in the shack in Sweden, Maine circa 1975 would put you off baking.
There have been numerous sightings of mouse nests in ski boots carelessly stored in garages, and all that that entails. For every mouse you see in a field, there are a thousand.
Our dogs, Speck and Dot, were escorted to the back door to be let outside for their twice a day sculpture class and bark practice. Dot blew out the door to make art and patrol for squirrels. Speck stopped and stuck his face into my Lake winter cycling boots, parked in a tray by the back door. With a frown he was asked to cease before he passed out from the smell. When I picked up my boot there was a rumble of bits inside. Was El Diablo or She playing a trick on me? The overturned boot revealed a small pile of dog food! What was odd is that it was not the same dog food that was currently being enjoyed by our pack. I picked up the pile, maybe a 1/4 cup, and dumped it into the trash and pushed Speck out the door to join Dot. A tiny spray of Lysol was utilized just in case a dog found the boot leather tasty. I was in a hurry to get to work, but this all seemed bit too familiar.
By the time I got home, the whole incident was forgotten.
A couple of days later, I was letting the dogs out to go to sculpture class again, when this time Dot buried her head into one of She Who Must Be Obeyed’s new winter boots. I mean seriously buried her head, with no desire to listen to me. I pulled the boot off of her, and dog food rained onto the floor. Dot is so quick she got every piece in one bounce.
A dim lightbulb went off in my head as I sprayed Lysol into She’s boots.
In the Laundry room we have a counter covered with crap. A lot of crap, like clean empty containers to store sugar, flour, or rice abound. Bicycle water bottles in the hundreds, a case of fuzzy water for Bunny. There is a basket of onions, All brand clothes washing soap, clear plastic jugs filled with dog food, distilled water for Miss Sylvia, Bounce, and a sample packet of emergency dog food that we keep just in case we go brain dead and run out of regular food for Dot and Speck.
With my favorite aluminum grain shovel, I excavated the first layer of crap off of the laundry room counter to find the scene of the crime.
A hole was carefully chewed into the bag of the emergency dog food. I surmised that this mouse was transferring the food to a shoe location so it could be saved and eaten another day. This all happened as our family slept
She Who Must Be Obeyed formed a plan. We would dress in full camouflage, with face paint and night vision goggles. We could take turns watching the pilfered bag in an effort to foil the mouse with the shoe fetish. I demurely suggested that instead we deploy a couple of mouse traps with some natural peanut butter, and get a good nights sleep.
Dawn proved fruitful. Two perpetrators were apprehended, but they were in no condition to stand trial.
At the time of writing this missive, six members of the burglary ring have been eliminated. We will remai
n diligent in our efforts to catch the leader of this horde!
Everyone knows, even old dogs can learn new tricks. The next time we get some “just in case” “ emergency” dog food samples, we will enclose them in glass or stout plastic to avoid any further episodes of: “The Mystery Of The Dog Food In The Boot”.
Leave a Reply