We have a new routine at our house. It started three days ago when Owen had gone to the basement and reached into the dog food bin to scoop out Lola's breakfast. He came back upstairs reporting that there was something in the food bin. When I asked him to clarify exactly what kind of something he thought was in there, he replied, "Something with a tail." So I went down to check and- sure enough- when I peeked in, I saw this adorable little field mouse with his big, black eyes blinking up at me. Not surprising with the field and trout brook running through our back yard... we get lots of wildlife, but it usually stays outside.
We use a trash can with a flip-down lid for Lola's dog food, so we figured that this little guy had walked across the top of the food bin and then the weight of him caused the lid to flip down, thus knocking him into the food. Since we were just about to get Lola more dog food, the food level was pretty low and he couldn't jump back out again. So, we set him free in the field behind the house and thought not much more about it. We got Lola more dog food and filled the bin back up.
However, the next morning: same thing. Adorable little brown mouse in the dog food bin. Not sure if it was the same mouse or a friend who might have seen our ad in the dining section of the Mouse News. So, we set him free out back again and that was that.
Until this morning.
Now, this has to be the same mouse, just messing with us, right?? Today we decided to take his picture since he is feeling like part of the family. And don't think the boys haven't asked if we could keep him. He is too, too cute and we kind of like him, but this is Day Three and he's not really carrying his weight around here. I mean, he gets into the bin... eats... then can't get back out... so he waits for the nice lady (me, but you already knew that) to come give him a ride back to his own place... Lazy mouse.
Not sure what our plan is to deal with this guy. Kath tells me we clearly need a cat. And that does seem logical... she could be right. Rocco would be thrilled because he loves cats. He loves everything, though. So, yeah, we could get a cat... as long as this cat would understand that it cannot shred our furniture, nor can it have a litter box in our home.
Okay, so you can see that we wouldn't really be a good family for a cat. We may have to call the pest company... I really don't want to do that, though. Maybe we can get this l'il guy to agree to stay here free of charge as long as he agrees to not chew our things, including wiring. If so, we can ink that rental agreement right now. I'll leave a copy of the lease in the dog food bin. (Then we're getting an airtight dog food container.)
