Oh Mickey You're So Fine..

I went out to the garage this morning to get the dogs food as usual only to find that whoever fed them yesterday evening had left the lid off their food bin. So overnight the delicious aromas of chicken and rice had been wafting around the garage calling any little visitors that might be hiding out in there. Sure enough I leaned over the bin and there blinking back up at me was a little brown mouse. It had managed to get in but now it was well and truly stuck. So I'm standing looking down at it and it's sitting looking up at me and the dogs are sitting looking at their food bowls.

The problem is being a country girl I know that these little beasts are vermin and as such should be disposed of, and I have to say normally if they become a pest then they are fair game I either set traps or preferably use my secret weapon, more about that in a minute. But when you are faced with a little furry creature sitting there looking up at you with incredibly pretty eyes and just for good measure it decides it needs a wash and brush up it's not that easy.

(At this point animal lovers, children, etc may wish to skip to the alternate ending below.)
What was I supposed to do, the first problem is that I can't do anything whilst it's still in the food bin, not wishing to offend anyone but splatting it in the bin would have been messy, and not really my style. So I had to get it out of the bin. Ok no problem, I tipped the bin away from me and hoped that it would have the good sense to jump out at which point having given it a sporting chance I could 'sort' it out. The dogs meanwhile have got sulky at their lack of breakfast and gone for a mooch in the garden. For a moment there it looked promising, it jumped onto the edge of the bin teetered for a moment and then in a moment of what I can only describe as madness, it bolted around the rim of the bin and yes straight up my arm. Unfortunately my arm was in my sleeve, so I now had a little warm and fuzzy running around inside my jacket. Calm at this stage eluded me and after jumping around like a demented orangutan for a couple of minutes, my secret weapon came to my defence.

Big girl as she is affectionately known is the biggest of my three dogs. She has one major claim to fame, she can bark a mouse to death at twenty paces. with her at my side my calm state returned and after much jiggling and shaking the mouse made it's escape. Hot on it's heels big girl cornered it and after several barks and one massive heart attack, it was off to Mickey heaven. That done she strutted back tail wagging for her well earned breakfast.

(Alternate ending.)The mouse in actual fact did not run up my arm, quite sensibly it jumped out of the bin as I tilted it and made off for the nearest cover. Hopefully it will live a long and happy life, with it's many children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren and all of their families in the land of Garage!