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I'm a children's author. Animals are a constant source of writing material for me. They are also my heart!

Maddie the Mouse and Me

>> Tuesday, August 4, 2009

There will be no photo for this one. First of all, no one was around to take the photo. And even if someone had been nearby, I really don't want a photo of me chasing Maddie around the yard (in the rain) wearing my tattered flimsy nightgown.

"Why was I chasing Maddie in the rain?" you ask.

Because she finally did what Annabelle has been trying to do all summer. She caught a chipmunk...rather a mouse.

I saw it from my upstairs window. I'm obsessive when my dogs are outside even though my yard is fenced and safe. I still look out to make sure everything's okay. This time when I looked out I saw Maddie flitting furiously this way and that.

Then I saw it. My little Maddie went in for the attack. I knew she had something in her mouth, but I didn't know what.

I cast modesty to the wind and ran downstairs and out the back door, bare feet and all. "Drop it!" I demanded.

Maddie looked at me and thought about swallowing the now obvious little mouse in her mouth whole. I've told you Maddie's not the brightest bulb on the tree...just sweet.

Well, for a few minutes this morning, she even lost her sweetness title. I began to clap my hands. "DROP IT!" I yelled again.

Maddie looked at me sheepishly. It began to rain harder and harder. A clap of thunder accompanied my next demand for Maddie to drop the mouse. I think Maddie thought the thunder was going to get her (remember, she's afraid of storms) so she finally dropped the little rodent and ran inside through my opened back door...leaving me and the mouse.

At first, I thought the mouse was a baby. It really was cute. Okay...I know mice are bad, but this was a cute mouse and it was breathing its last breath.

I guess some people would have killed it to put it out of its misery, but I'm not one of those people. I just can't. I went dripping back inside and got a paper towel and a shoe box. I picked the little mouse up, put it in the shoebox, and took the shoebox into my garage. It died a few minutes later - in my garage and out of the rain.

Okay. I'm a sap. At least Maddie didn't eat a mouse. I did what I could and there's one less rodent in the world. Who needs coyotes? Not me. I've got Maddie. Somehow, this doesn't seem like Mother Nature at work though...it just seems disgusting.

Wish I could get Maddie to use some mouthwash!

9 comments:

Parsley August 4, 2009 at 10:09 AM  

I feel your pain. Our dog Rosie caught a mole and proceeded to bring it into my house to crunch on it; blood dripping everywhere.

That said, I have an affection for mice. We have had pet mice before and they are really good pets. They don't bite like other rodents.

So, mice in cage--good. Mice in your cereal or your dog's mouth--bad. ;)

Tweedles -- that's me August 4, 2009 at 8:54 PM  

My mom does the same thing when she sees the cats have something. And when I have something, moms yell "drop it, sit, cookies in the house, treats, chicky" anything to get me to drop whatever I have. It doesn't always work. Sometimes all she has to say is "lets trade" and I do.
xoxoxo
tweedles

Two French Bulldogs August 4, 2009 at 9:54 PM  

Ut oh Maddie... Hope your note in trouble.
Benny & Lily
PS.. That sounds like fun!

Sandra August 4, 2009 at 10:33 PM  

I sympathize; I own a Greyhound with a hunting instinct. Nothing escapes her. I won't elaborate. Maddie is a good girl, mice are cute, but they are destructive.

BRUTUS August 5, 2009 at 8:15 AM  

Hi Jan-
Thanks for you comments on our blog. We do have quite a bit in common - Ohio (I'm about 2 hrs from Columbus), dogs, & horses! I don't show horses any more (not enough hours in the day!), but I competed in dressage for many years (miss it!!). Oddly enough, agility has quite a few horse people involved, guess there is some obvious cross-over there!

As far as your questions, I do use clicker training, but not much for agility (more for obedience/rally, which we are also working on). Seems like the dogs who are good at agility do it almost on their own, we handlers just need to do some behavior shaping (like for "contacts", where the dog has to touch a certain area of the a-frame or teeter with at least one foot before leaving the obstacle). Brutus is a natural, I'm just working on myself to be a better handler right now!

Your blog has a refreshing amount of variety I see, we'll be visiting often! I have an old (17) JR terrier that was a fabulous "ratter" in his day, rid our back yard of moles for many years!!

Thanks again for your compliments on Brutus & my blog! See you soon!

Brutus & Michelle

sandy August 5, 2009 at 8:22 AM  

Having just gotten rid of a mouse in the house (rather expensively too), I wish Maddie had been here. Cats and Dogs have natural instincts, while I wouldn't want it in my house; it's the natural order of things. Nature's order-- food chain-- if you will. A eats B, B eats C and so on. In Maddie's mind that mouse was in her turf.

Now thinking of Maddie gargling mouth wash makes me laugh, that and Jan running about the rain in not dressed state.........that would be a picture for sure. Dang, never have a camera when you need one.

I must be the only one who doesn't think mice are cute, they give me the hiby gibee's (no glue how to spell that). They are rodents who carry disease just like rats...which perhaps is a reason not to want you pets to munch them.

Sandy
Swing by the suitcase, has been LOTS of places to share with you

The Adventures of the LLB Gang August 5, 2009 at 11:18 AM  

Too Cute, funny and yes..you are definitely an animal lover!! Thanks for stopping by to say hi yesterday..and Dory and I will by all means be following your wonderful animal hi jinx!

I also read your farewell to Kelly. It is so rough to lose a pet, and even rougher to share it. Thank you so much for opening up to your readers, your words truly touched me.

Dory and her Mom

Shelley Munro August 5, 2009 at 5:16 PM  

Eek, our little dog used to like to catch mice. They'd sneak behind the fridge during the winter and she'd know the minute one tried to hide out in the warmth. If it dared to stick its head out, she'd grab it. You're much braver than me - I couldn't pick up the mouse. Scotty would roll on it and play with it until the poor mouse died of shock. She hasn't caught one for a while - thank goodness!

E August 11, 2009 at 12:12 PM  

Funny, you always think of cats going after mice; not dogs. She must be a good hunter.

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