The Battle for Nimh

Upon returning home one evening this summer we noticed that Aussie was concerned with something just over the fence. “Curious”, but we thought nothing of it and went inside. To our wonderment Aussie continued to be fixated at the same point in the fence. It was the first place she would check in the morning, last place at night, and where she would spend most of her time during the day patrolling. Located on the other side of the fence is our neighbor’s pear tree. Our neighbor is an elderly gentleman with a few health issues which restrict him from much of the maintenance of his yard. Unfortunately this means that his yard is more than slightly overgrown with a variety of fallen fruits strewn about under his trees. Well these living conditions were apparently ideal for something that our dog did not particularly agree with. This menace continued to torment our dog in secret and silence.
Aussie’s agitation continued to grow. Her frustrations were demonstrated by almost excessive barking after dusk, not to mention the renewed desire to dig holes in the lawn. Returning home one night after work I found Aussie sitting fixated at the fence like what had come to be some what of a normal find over the last few weeks. She did not even come to great me at the gate like her normal self. So I decided to go and great her. As I approached Aussie remained seated but turned back with a look of “do something please”, and then returned to her guard. Slowly I moved forward to try to gain a view of what our dog was watching for so intently. I had tried this on several other occasions, using the small light on my phone to see, but my reconnaissance had always come back with nothing. This time was different; as I watched and waited I heard a noise. An eerie and odd scraping sound was coming from the inner part of the pear tree. We now had proof that there was something in the neighbors. This new information came as somewhat of a relief, that our dog was not crazy. But it also created new tension and concern. Had our borders been breached by this enemy from the other side of the fence or had Aussie kept it at bay?
Now having knowledge of this unknown foreign threat, we were determined to find out who it was and its threat level. Over the past few weeks I had made efforts to see what was on the other side of the fence, but always to no avail. In knew that this enemy was cunning and evasive and in order to find out more information I would have to take action. First we checked our house for any signs of foreign activity…nothing. With no tracks or any visible signs I could not assess size or number. I determined my first action was to place a trap. My parents had a live animal trap that had already seen action in battle. It was a highly decorated veteran, having had much success against a stray cat infestation. With an unknown foe, who would not want a veteran on their side in such a battle? So I enlisted the assistance of the live animal trap.
With great anticipation Aussie and I set out the trap a few nights after confirming our threat. Our enemy was still unknown and so we did not know what would lure them into our trap. We reasoned that fruit may be the best, as our enemy did live under a fruit tree. To our dismay that was not what our foe was looking for. Apparently there was enough of that readily available. After a few other failed attempts we decided to bring out the big guns…peanut butter. With hope waning we set the trap with what we thought to be our best weapon.
After repeated failure it is common to not expect results. This was how I felt the next morning as I went to work. Aussie ran to her normal spot at the fence but I just cast a casual glance toward the trap. After a long day of work I came home late to find Aussie by the fence. As I walked up to the gate she ran over with more than her normal happiness to see me. With a look of “we got something” in her eye she turned and ran back toward the battle front. I followed with anticipation, both glad that we had caught something and worried to find out what foe we were up against. Was this a single foe, or would this be only one a larger force? In the darkness I approached the trap. To my dismay I could see nothing. The trap had been triggered and there should have been something inside. Even with the use of a flash light I could not make out an enemy in our trap. Sad, and feeling defeated we retired for the night. The next morning Aussie woke with more excitement than normal, she is actually not a morning dog. She takes her time getting up and it is usually only the sound of lunch being prepared that brings her to her feet. But not this day. So I let her outside and decided to check the trap in the daylight. Success! We had caught something it was small and well camouflaged for its nighttime activity. Its dark grey coloring hid it from my view the night before. Clearly I could see him now. A Rat! We were fighting rats.