So anyone who knows me well knows that I have a wee bitty obsession with wee bitty animals-- rodents in particular. In Iraq, one of my NCOs had a poem published about a girl in his unit who continually collected and disposed of mouse traps and poison, though she was threatened repeatedly with bodily harm, UCMJ, and such. Wonder who that was. So I get here and finally get to do something that I have wanted to for a long time: get Lea her first pet that we can take care of together to teach her compassion and set the beginnings of a foundation of responsibility.
On several trips to the pet store, one mouse in particular caught my eye: she was long haired, very small, and just plain adorable. On the second trip, I bought her along with a cage know to be cat proof. This mouse was so sweet. If you stuck your hand in the cage, she would crawl into it or snuggle by it eating. It eventually came to my attention that she was getting cold at night and so I stuck her cage upstairs on the floor by the heater. The room has no traffic because it is a spare, and I keep the door closed. I also got her two girlfriends to huddle with. They were on their way to being sweet too. None bit. Lea LOVED them and ran around the house chanting “Mou, mou, mou!!”. She named the little one “WEEE!” I let her touch them (and thoroughly washed her hands right after) and she was so gentile and sweet.
So yesterday we went out for groceries and yesterday Roscoe learned how to open doors. He opened two doors to get into this room. When we arrived home, I found him in it surrounded by cage fluff. Needless to say, he killed all three mice. I have been sick over it since last night. Thank God Miles cleaned the mess. He told me that it was pretty horrible.
I am so upset with Roscoe. He didn’t even eat them, which somehow makes me madder. It’s like he just wanted them dead for no particular reason. I guess that I am so close to him that I don’t see him as a dog—more of just an extension of the human race. Like furry people. The thing is, I have never had a pet killing dog before and I am shocked at this. He is great with small kittens, Freddie, and I didn’t think he would even notice the mice. I feel like this is my fault for even bringing them into the house. Lea was with me when we discovered the mess and though I don’t think she understood, she cried. She has not said a word about the mice.
I know it’s stupid that I am this upset. I really love critters, though.
On several trips to the pet store, one mouse in particular caught my eye: she was long haired, very small, and just plain adorable. On the second trip, I bought her along with a cage know to be cat proof. This mouse was so sweet. If you stuck your hand in the cage, she would crawl into it or snuggle by it eating. It eventually came to my attention that she was getting cold at night and so I stuck her cage upstairs on the floor by the heater. The room has no traffic because it is a spare, and I keep the door closed. I also got her two girlfriends to huddle with. They were on their way to being sweet too. None bit. Lea LOVED them and ran around the house chanting “Mou, mou, mou!!”. She named the little one “WEEE!” I let her touch them (and thoroughly washed her hands right after) and she was so gentile and sweet.
So yesterday we went out for groceries and yesterday Roscoe learned how to open doors. He opened two doors to get into this room. When we arrived home, I found him in it surrounded by cage fluff. Needless to say, he killed all three mice. I have been sick over it since last night. Thank God Miles cleaned the mess. He told me that it was pretty horrible.
I am so upset with Roscoe. He didn’t even eat them, which somehow makes me madder. It’s like he just wanted them dead for no particular reason. I guess that I am so close to him that I don’t see him as a dog—more of just an extension of the human race. Like furry people. The thing is, I have never had a pet killing dog before and I am shocked at this. He is great with small kittens, Freddie, and I didn’t think he would even notice the mice. I feel like this is my fault for even bringing them into the house. Lea was with me when we discovered the mess and though I don’t think she understood, she cried. She has not said a word about the mice.
I know it’s stupid that I am this upset. I really love critters, though.
it's not stupid to feel upset at all! how sad. my sis really has a heart for animals and something similar happened to her once. she couldn't bear to be around her dog for a week because she just didn't know how to react to him. i'm so sorry about the little mice. :(
ReplyDeleteThat is so sad :(. It's not stupid at all. I wouldn't know how to react to my dog either. We have a cat who is dying to get the birds outside so we're not bringing any small critters home for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteI took him for a long walk yesterday. While on it, I realized again that I overly humanize him and that he is a terrier and that I can't just be mad at him for it because he will not change. This made me feel better because the actions associated with it consist of either forgiving and forgeting or getting rid of him. I could never act on the latter. So there it was. So no more tiny animals for us (not even with a cat/dog proof cage!), which is sad, but best for all.
ReplyDeletethanks