Tuesday, August 19, 2008

discombobulated


This morning, when I was taking the dog out I stood staring at nothing as I often do when I realized that I was watching a mouse walk drunkenly in circles under the deck. So after Willow was done I walked over there with her. I didn't see the mouse and so I prepared to leave when it moved. It was a deer mouse.

If you've never seen a deer mouse, they are actually really cute. They have a pretty golden brown coat with a white belly. Their tail is long but not scaley. They have neat round ears and tear drop eyes (as if they were drawn for a Precious Moments figurine).

The also carry the Hantavirus. I found out about the hantavirus six years ago when we had our one and only mouse in the house. We trapped it with a sticky trap because we couldn't stand the idea of snapping it in snap trap. We caught it and then didn't know what to do with it. Fortunately, it was trash day. Our trash had already been picked up but the trash for the people across the street had not so hubby put it in their trash.

It was a cute mouse so I researched it because I had never seen a mouse like it before. So now I know. I remember after we trapped that mouse I was paranoid for well over a month.

So this morning, I was rather freaked out. When I went out with the girls later I told them they could not play under the deck. Just then I saw our neighbor. I hailed her and went over to talk to her when I saw the mouse right in front of me. So I sent DramaQueen to get me a shovel and I hit it several times and then I scooped it up and carried out to the street.

Later I went into the front yard to bring our trash can in (it was trash day). And there was that mouse circling right next to the trash can (which was quite far from where I tossed it in the street). So I got the shovel and smashed it again and then tossed it into the middle of the street and stood in the middle of the street smashing it until I was certain it was dead.

This morning, I googled to see if mice with the hantavirus have symptoms. They don't. So then I googled mouse running in circles and found that most people believed that it was either suffering from poison, had had a stroke, or had an inner-ear infection, I also heard people mention a waltzing disease but found nothing on it. I also found more than one YouTube video of mice running circles.

Apparently, I've emotionally damaged the girls as it is all they talk about and when we were out getting a few groceries they told everyone.

Tonight the girls have dance recital. The photo at the top is a practice photo as I volunteered to photograph all the girls at the recital.

8 comments:

  1. I think I saw someone with that waltzing disease on "So You Think You Can Dance".

    I hate mice. Yes, they may be cute, but death by being smacked with a shovel was still to good for it.

    Do you think that someone might have dCon around? If so, put a tub of water under your deck where your dog cannot get, and if there are more, they will want water - will dive in, and then swim themselves to death.

    It worked for us on dozens of occasionals.

    If that fails, get a gun.

    Did I mention that I hate mice?

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is very odd! Are you concerned? I am, I may have to research this mice running in circles thing. I'm sorry your girls are heart sick over the death. Ending another creatures life is not an easy decision to make. I hope it's forgotten soon and that you dont find any more of these mice running round in circles.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:22 PM

    I hate killing things...even though I eat meat, which ought to be an oxymoron. I had to kill a tiny baby bird that our cat had been messing with. I had no idea where the nest was so I broke it's neck...and then cried.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:23 PM

    ...lol I don't mind mice, but my hubby hates 'em. In our house I deal with mice (and rats if we ever got them - yikes, hope not!) and hubs deals with spiders and other crawling things.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, I too am pulled between a deep love for all creatures and a deeper protective instinct for my family. My sympathies.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WE lost a dear family friend to hantavirus in the early 90's. It was then that national attention was brought to it when a horrible outbreak occured in the southwestern US. Our friend lived in New Mexico, was a civil engineer and out in the field doing surveys. He must have been exposed then. Several deaths occured in NM and was confirmed to be the hanta virus. It made me mad our friend had to die that way. I DO not like mice. We have mostly the common grey field mice here. In the more arid, western part of the state, there are the deer mice. The field mice get into everything. Their droppings are ghastly and have to be cleaned out with chlorox and elbow grease in the spring from the farm machines and my old farm truck cab that hauls our wheat. We set traps, have cats, these mice are still legion.

    I detest them and their filth, the disease they carry in their bodies. Yes, by all means...get a gun if need be.

    ReplyDelete
  7. In answer to questions. Claire, yes I am very, very concerned.

    And to everyone else - many of your comments captured some of the turmoil of emotions this situation gave me.

    The girls were very upset with me and Stinkerbell kept repeating what if it is a Daddy Mouse (apparently Daddy mice are more essential than Mommy mice).

    I kept telling them that I didn't care how cute or Beatrix Pottery he was, I would rather have healthy strong girls than a mouse.

    I've still got the heebyjeebies when I think of this creature and I am sure to attribute any weird health symptoms to our contact (we never actually physically touched the creature) with the mouse.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm with you...the only good mouse is a dead one!!!

    ReplyDelete