9.24.2008

a true mouseketeer

My first day back into my office was in the middle of August. I came up to the school to check on things. As I walked around I noticed one of our bookshelves was covered in this powder substance and a whole lot of mice remnants. When I say "a whole lot" I mean A WHOLE LOT! Apparently a bag of flour was placed in a garbage bag and put on the shelves for summer keeping. First off, if a mouse can chew through the flour bag, he will find the garbage bag a joke. So, anyway, all of these clues alerted me to a mouse problem in my office. So, last week I asked the custodian for a little mouse trap, which I placed on those shelves with a piece of granola bar. The trap went untouched for over a week.
Then suddenly, yesterday I was working at my desk and I heard a noise. I looked to my left, where we have this large metal file cabinet and a metal cart. Out of the corner of my eye I catch the back end of a little mouse jumping down off the cart and running in between the cabinet and the wall. I lept out of my chair and started the hunt. I had nothing but a round tupperware dish and my keen eye sight. I tore the room up and found nothing, so I decided to move the sticky trap to that area on the floor. I came in the office this morning reluctant to check the trap and sure enough there was Mickey, stuck as could be. My first instinct was excitement and my second was total sadness. It was awful to see him stuck to that death trap. He was so tiny and he was trying with all his might to pull himself off, but he couldn't. So, I knew I couldn't just let him die that slow miserable death. I picked up the trap, put it in this box and carried through the school to find the janitor to help me get him off the trap without killing him. Of course the janitor's response was, throw him in the dumpster! This was not an option, I was determined to save the little guy. So, I took him outside to a field and tried to get him off with a stick...this was a total failure. Suddenly I knew the only way that thing was coming off was if I grabbed him myself and pulled him off. You more than likely thinking at this point, "What is wrong with her? Please tell me she didn't!" Well folks, I did. I took my fingers, grabbed the little mouse and pulled without hurting him until he came off, which wasn't easy by the way, those things work. I sat him in the grass and he buried his head in a little ball as fast as he could. He was so tiny and so scared and I felt like an evil human. I understand we can't have rodents infesting buildings, and if it had been a large scary rat I might have done differently, but after watching the poor little thing struggle I just couldn't.
Call me crazy, call me gross, call me weird, I don't care. The little mouse lives another day!

1 comments:

Melanie said...

I think you're the best person in the world for saving that little mouse! Yay AJ. Now all the mice will revere you :)