So for about a week now we have found signs of a mouse living around our kitchen. Westin was in charge of getting rid of it. His first idea was to buy the well known game by Milton Bradley, "Mouse Trap" (you all know what that is, right?) and use that to catch it. We ended up getting some actual mouse traps and Westin set a nice little piece of cheese with a smear of Peanut Butter. So tonight when we got home Westin checked the trap ('cause I wasn't about to look) and he realized that we had caught it. I think Westin thought he would feel a sense of victory because he kept talking about how he had caught a giant rat living in one of the apartments on his mission and how manly he was about the whole thing. But we were kind of sad tonight and although we would do it again in a heartbeat, we couldn't help but feel bad for the little guy... Here are some thoughts that we have had:
1- Is it cruel to give an innocent creature the hope of eating a delicious piece of cheese and peanut butter only to snap it's neck? I mean, it's not like some beast or pheasant you have to hunt and kill, it's a little mouse who just didn't know any better. That makes it sad.
2- Why is it we feel differently about killing a big fat ugly rat, than a small "cute" mouse?
3- Is it better to set a "non killing" trap and set the mouse free in the wild where it will most likely just get eaten by a bigger animal, or just freeze to death (taking into account the weather outside). I guess we could have kept it as a pet and waited for Spring to set him free.
4- Is Westin a losery wuss for feeling so sad about the life of the poor little mouse? I don't think so, he wrote this one, not me.
We don't feel guilty in any way, it's just one of the gloomy aspects of life. It is a good thing Serena is not older, it would be hard to explain this to her.
6 months ago
10 comments:
Don't feel bad, mice tend to be disease ridden, and you don't want it spreading its' diseases to your adorable daughter.
Just whatever you do, don't use poison. Our friends just lost their two youngest daughters to poisoning when they had pesticides placed around their home.
Mice are trouble.
Yeah don't use poison... A family in our stake lost their two youngest girls. Probably the same people Lena is talking about. Very sad.
You crack me up!
yuck! don't feel bad.They're gross and dirty and can carry all kinds of disease that could hurt your family. Westin was a hero killing it. Just like nephi killing laban. it's better that one mouse die than a whole househould be infected with haunta viris.
Poor little mousie! Yeah it is hard not to feel bad when you see how cute and little they are... But it could have chosen to stay out in the field where it belonged, so it's really the mouses fault! :) Plus it helps me not to feel bad when I remember that they ruin everything and are nasty little rodents, so in spite of their cuteness, they really are gross! Think of it as a wolf in sheeps clothing. :)
Someone people can't answer simple questions..
1. It is not cruel, because cheese is worth the risk. This must be analyzed on a risk/reward basis. Had it only been peanut butter it would have been cruel to snap it's neck, because the reward in that case would not be worth the risk.
2. The reason you feel bad, is that there was no sense of competition. In contrast with a big rat there is a sporting chance of rabies or something, thus you don't need to feel as bad with a rat.
3. Yes, it is better to set it free. Because you killed the mouse, the eagle dies. Because to many eagles died, they are endanged and going the way of the dodo.
4. Westin is a wuss for other reasons.. (just kidding)
This is really funny because almost the same thing happened to us. We found signs of a mouse so it was my job to get rid of it. Natalie decided to name it Jerry. After I caught it, she was pretty sad about it and wanted to burry it with her old pet hamster!
funny story! i think i would feel a little bit bad too though. don't worry, his death was a necessary evil
I think putting the picture of the adorable mouse offering flowers and saying "sorry" to his/her dead brother/sister makes up for the cruelty.
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