Monday morning drama

So I come into work on the very last day of 2007, expecting it to be a nice, slow day. I walk into my office, turn on the lights, and set my purse and laptop bag down. I go around saying good morning to everyone, then come back to get settled in. I get out the power cord for my computer and walk over to the power strip. I bend down to plug it in, and something moves! Oh my god, what is it? Oh my god, it's that mouse! Sy, my coworker and friend who sits right outside my door, had found droppings on his desk a couple days ago, so we knew we had a mouse. And there it was, nestled in the massive knot of cords by my desk. I'm thinking it must be tangled up because it was struggling, but not able to get away. Sy comes in, and lo, its leg is caught in the trap he set.** He gets an empty trash can and opens up the trap (it was a weird one, kind of like a giant clip) and the mouse drops into the can. It's running all around, trying to find a way to escape. I take it outside to let it free, but upon further inspection, notice that his rear leg was bending the wrong way, and was totally swollen. And when I lay down the trash can outside in a woodsy area (I live in North Carolina, remember?), he doesn't want to leave. I keep looking at his cute wittle face and thinking about how he must be in so much pain, with his leg trapped all weekend, not to mention hungry and thirsty. And now I was going to toss him outside in the 40-degree weather when he's grown accustomed to the warmth of our office? I come back in the office with tears in my eyes, and Kim jumps into action. She calls her vet (to my protest--I love animals, but I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars on this little guy) who refers her to a wildlife center that takes in injured native animals. Meanwhile my boss walks over and is like, "Are you crying?" Yes, I am, why aren't you? An animal is suffering here, and one of us did it to him on purpose. You have a dog. How can you draw the line?

**Both Kim and I had told Sy that that if he wanted to catch the mouse, he must get the humane kind of trap. Well, apparently his definition of humane is different than ours. I suppose to some, a quick death is a humane death, but to be truly humane, death should not even enter the picture! And the worst part, if there can be degrees of bad here, is that Sy set the trap in his cubicle...which means that the mouse must have dragged the trap across the hallway and into my office!

Anyway, back to the mouse. Kim called the Piedmont Wildlife Center, explained the situation, and within 10 minutes we were in the car driving the mouse to Durham.


They took him in with just a single sheet of paperwork and no payment. They said they would put a tiny splint on his leg, and after it heals, would set him free in the woods. How awesome is that?! Caring for all creatures, great and small. Being that it was the end of the year and I needed to make a donation to a charity anyway, they were the beneficiary. If you're looking for a worthy cause, I would recommend them. They even gave me a case number so I could follow up to find out how the little guy is doing.

Well, now we have another one. After Monday's drama, no one would dare put out a lethal trap. I went and got the kind that trap it alive. I put four around the office, with some peanut butter and cookie in them. Hopefully they work, because Jace said I have until Monday morning before he calls building management. I understand, because he can't have an unhealthy workplace, so I appreciate that he's at least giving this method a chance.