Attitude is everything. I recently had a mouse in the house, obviously seeking refuge from the cold. I couldn’t bear to guillotine traditional mousetrap nor could I figure out how to set the “Have a Heart” trap with peanut butter without trapping a finger. One evening I saw the tiniest exhibit of a little brown mouse standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the TV room where I sat on the couch. We regarded each other for a moment of stunned bewilderment concerning which of us belonged where we were. Then the little thing scampered across the room. It ran right in front of the couch to disappear under the baseboards.
A thought then flitted through my mind: I wanted the little creature to stop and stay awhile. Lively company, the mouse was distinctly pet-like in its way: small and cute and furry. Little ferrets, also small and cute and furry are taken in as pets. If I chose to treat the little varmint as a pet there were several advantages: I would not have to take time from my busy schedule to feed it as with a pet claiming the nomenclature of pet; nor walk it or treat it for fleas. It does not need vaccinations or be taken to the vet for any reason. It leaves only the tiniest of mess, easily sanitized. There are disadvantages. I could not show it off, no matter how adorable I considered the guy, his bad press preceding him. Its shyness and love of darkness precluding my rarely seeing the pet would also be a problem. The good thing is that seeing how darling the little visitor was, I have never been afraid of mice since then. Attitude is everything. Seeing in the DarK, Arielle’s Story
