Introducing The Beast

Shawn is coming back from Phoenix. And, that means Mack is coming back too. Oh how I have missed that little boy. He has been gone for 9 months and it feels like forever. Every night I prayed to God to protect them and keep them safe. I prayed that God would help Shawn make good decisions with his life and Mack’s. Then I would ask, God if it is your will please send them back to us. And here they come. God is so good!

They arrived late, around midnight. Shawn and I kept in touch with text messages all evening so I would know how close they were. And before you knew it the u-haul was coming down the drive way. As the door opened there was a sleepy Mack with his arms out stretched calling Nanny. I grabbed him and held him, and he held me. Oh my sweet boy I have missed you so much! It was so good to feel him in my arms again. And he was holding me so tight. He has grown a bit since I last saw him and he was a lot heavier too. Poppy came outside and I said, "Poppy wants to hug you, Mack". And we made the switch over. My arms were about to give in. Little boys sure do grow fast. Shawn looked great as I hugged him and then out of the truck comes Tyson. He was a puppy when I last saw him and Scot warned me how big he was. I can tell you that puppies definitely grow a lot faster then little boys do.

There are 6 words to describe Tyson.

Big

Brown

Buff

Beautiful

Baby

and bad!

Tyson is a pit-bull and a bull mastiff mix. He was just a tiny thing when Shawn got a hold of him. He had parvo and all his siblings died. Shawn got medicine from the local tractor supply store and Timmy injected him with the medication. He lived in a laundry basket for about a month until he was strong enough to walk. Shawn fed him pedialite and baby food in the beginning and when he got stronger he bought chicken, boiled it, and put it into a blender to make mush. That is how he got the name Tyson. He consumed a lot of Tyson chicken. Much TLC was invested in this dog. Shawn loves animals and it isn’t surprising that his dog would be a big baby.

Everyone went inside and Tyson met the other dogs. We have three of them. Noah is a mutt and ever so gentle and friendly. BJ is a Boston terrier and looks like a baby hippo. He likes to eat. And Bailey is a pug. She is bossy and thinks she runs the show around here. Everyone got along just fine and we showed Tyson where the doggie door was. Thankfully he could fit through it. We visited for a bit and then we went to bed. Scot had to work the next day and I am sure Shawn was tired from the drive. They were here safely and tomorrow I could get to spend time with Mack.

Getting to know Tyson was easy enough. He is a very friendly dog. Too friendly at times. He doesn’t understand how big and strong he is. He is very lovable and he thinks he is a lap dog. It’s good Shawn was home a few days before he got a job, just to supervise the getting to know us stage. Tyson barked a few mornings when Scot got up to go to work. It was still dark and when Scot came into the kitchen Tyson growled and barked at him. Scot asked him, "Who do you thing you are? This is my house buddy". Tyson would lay his head down and give you those big brown eyes.

The only bad thing that I find with Tyson, is that you can’t play with him to well. Well, if you are me that is. He is too strong for me. And he is a clutz. That thing where he thinks he is a lap dog doesn’t help either. He just kind of barrels into you. He is really playful and still in the puppy stage. I am waiting for him to be old and lazy like Noah. I think I have a long wait. Things are going okay and Shawn is working and Mack is here with me and the 4 dogs. There is nothing boring about our days here. The dogs had a few scuffles but peace and tranquility is now established.

Timmy came to stay with us temporarily, and on this particular week Jeremy and Jinny took a vacation and I am dog sitting. So now we have 6 dogs here. Oh yes, you read that right! Good thing we have a big house and a doggie door and ¾ of an acre of fenced in yard for them. But still, it’s a little crazy here. I needed to go for groceries and Timmy was going with me. I knew that I needed to separate the dogs since Tyson was not really use to the other two dogs. Didn’t want any fights to happen while I was out. I put little Lola in her kennel and I didn’t want to traumatize Duke by shutting him in a bedroom. Duke is the three legged border collie my son and daughter in law adopted from the pound. He’s a bit scared of loud noises and such, but a very good dog. So I decided to put Tyson in Shawn’s bedroom and close the door. I figured he could hold any potty business while we were gone and take a nap. Boy was I wrong!

We got home from the store and went to release the captives. When I got to Shawn’s room I was afraid to open the door. I could already see the carpet was shredded under the door. I could hear Tyson whining to have the door opened. I opened the door and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Besides the bed covers being every where and the mattress slightly cockeyed on the bed, the carpet was chewed down to the padding at the door. The molding around the door was missing half way up the wall. There was a hole in the wall down low by the door. And Shawn’s bible by his bed was chewed up. Guess he was getting the Word put into him. I called for Timmy and he came and looked in the room.

"I knew that wasn’t a good idea. Dad is gonna be mad. Tyson what did you do!! Bad dog!!"

I felt like I couldn’t yell at him. After all, it was my stupid idea to put him in there and close the door. I should have known the puppy in him would have come out. I should have put Duke in the bedroom and closed the door. He wouldn’t have done this!

I called Shawn at work and told him. He said, "Oh no, Dad is going to be so mad". I think I just heard that statement a minute ago? I told him I was going to call dad right now and tell him so that it could sink into his head before he got home from work and he could cool off a bit. I called Scot at work and told him. I told him it was my fault that I should have know better then to close the beast up like that. He said well, we will just have to get a throw rug for now to put over the chewed up spot. I will pick one up after work. ????????? Was that really the conversation we just had? He didn’t say he was going to kill the dog, or take his butt to the pound, or that Shawn had to find another place for him to stay? I called Shawn and he couldn’t believe that dad was so calm either. But we sighed with relief.

Later as I was petting Tyson and he was looking at me with those big brown eyes I noticed blue carpet threads stuck in between his teeth. I pulled them out and thought 'you are going to be in so much trouble when your daddy gets home tonight'. It hasn’t taken me very long to fall in love with the beast. He works me over like a grand child would. He follows me every where I go just waiting for me to talk to him and pat his head. He is so big that I don’t even need to bend over to reach his head to pat it. He rests his big head on my lap when I sit down. And again with those big brown eyes looks at me so gentle. Ahhhh, what a sucker I am!

The molding is replaced, the hole patched and painted. There is a throw rug over the threshold at the door and Shawn got a new bible. Tyson never gets shut in a bedroom any longer and Duke and Lola had a nice visit with Nanny. Oh yes, I can see it is going to be one adventure after another with Tyson in our lives…………………… You’ll see.

Goodbye to Boots and Socks

Boots and Socks have continued to grow and grow. I guess I never expected rats to get so big and fat. I am known only to them as the food lady. They see me and they immediately start to jump at the lid to the aquaruim. What does she have for us today? They even make squeeky noises at me. They have lived off of cookies, muffins, cereal, boring dog food, miniture marshmallows, and there most favorite, biscuits. Of course there is always that extra something or other that I might try and throw in there cage, like pizza crust. I have even made them toast. They have not disappointed me in liking almost anything. But (there is always a but to any situation), I have discovered that I am allergic to them. If I hold them I brake out in welps and itch terribly. If I breathe of them too much I start to wheeze and cough. And I can feel my throat tighten up very quickly. A situation indeed. So I exist only as the food lady, no petting, no holding, just dump the food in and go. No problem cleaning the cage though. As long as I don't hold them I am okay. How sad of an existance for Boots and Socks. Eat, sleep, run on the wheel, and get a drink. I need to do something and the only thing to do is to find a new home for them. How hard is this going to be?

I start in my own back yard.

"Jeremy, do you want some pet rats?"

Jinny says, "No Jeremy. Don't even think of it."

"Shawn, how about you?"

"No", from both him and Chrissie.

"Timmy?"

"No."

So much for my own back yard. I was chatting one night with my friend Debbie. I asked her to ask her son if he knew of anyone who wanted pet rats. She said, "No! He isn't having any @#^%( *&%^%#@)( pet rats". That response didn't surprise me. I expected it. But tell him to ask around. I guess I will try at work. I tried to single out people I knew that had kids. You would not believe the responses I got.

"You have what?"

"Rats," I say.

"You mean you have them as pets?"

"Yes."

"You mean you hold them and stuff like that?"

"Well, you see that is the problem, I am allergic to them so I can't hold them and pet them. I need someone to take them who will give them some attention."

They aren't listening to me. They are still stuck on the idea that I have pet rats!

"Your kidding me right?"

"No, I am serious."

"I have a whole new impression of you, Sheila. I never thought of you as having RATS for a pet."

I became rat fink, and rat girl. And no one wanted any pet rats. They just shook their heads and laughed at me. I got a lot of interesting suggestions. Set them loose, give them to your cats, let the dogs play with them. Take them back to the pet store. Come on, I saved them from being snake food, how could I do that? A snake owner would take one look at how fat and healthy they were and they would be history in the belly of a hungry snake. Besides, no matter what anyone says they are fat cute guys. Scot told me I would be stuck with them forever and I was beginning to believe him. But I would not give up my quest.

Along came Tara. A new girl at work. She has four kids. And it never occured to me to ask her. Four kids is enough to feed. One morning we somehow got on the subject of pets. I mentioned that I was still trying to find a new home for my pet rats. Tara said, "Friday is my sons birthday and I would love to take them". Then Yolanda said, "I didn't know you were trying to get rid of your rats. I would have taken them for my son". Where was she the whole time I was interviewing people? There we sat, three women discussing how neat rats were for pets. Can you believe this? I knew that they would be taken care of now. But I was also worried that four young children might be dangerous for Boots and Socks. But I think I have no other choice then to do this. I couldn't wait to tell Scot that my situation has been solved.

Friday morning was a little hard for me. I got the aquarium and sat it on the bar. It was a heavy load (especially since Boots is so chunky). I drank some coffee as I watched them looking around at what was happening to them. I gave them each a marshmallow bunny and they happily munched them. I loaded up the remaining cedar chips and cheerios I had for them and filled a zip lock with some boring dog food. At least they would be good to go for awhile. The cats snooped around the aquaruim at them and they looked at each other. Sniffing each other through the glass as best they could. I got the camera out and snapped some pictures (I know, I know, I am nuts!). I told them they were in for a new adventure. I hoped they were ready for it. Scot got up and he too said his goodbye's and he loaded them in behind the seats of the truck. They were scared and huddled together in the corner. Poor little guys.

As I was driving down the highway I started to cough. I couldn't breathe very well and couldn't get much air. The rats, I thought. They are going to kill me yet. I rolled down the windows and turned the heat on full blast. I was still coughing and wheezing and was feeling light headed from all the air I was not getting. I couldn't get to work soon enough to get out of that truck. When Tara showed up (I was still wheezing) and I asked, "Are you still going to take the rats?" She said, "Oh yes". Whew, good thing too. I didn't think I could drive back home with them in the truck. I told her about my trip to town and she said, "Let's take them out of your truck now so it can air out before you have to get in it again". Good idea! So we transfered the fat boys to her car. She said, "Oh my goodness, Ihave never seen rats so fat in all my life!" I tried to tell her. It's one of those things you have to see to believe.

I told her they were almost two years old, and again she was surprised. "How long do rats live?", she asked. I told her I had no idea and I guess we would find out soon enough. I explained all the things they liked to eat, I hoped she was listening. She took them home on her lunch break and said the two youngest ones who aren't in school were excited about them. The other two would see them later that day. I felt sad to give them away. But it was necessary. The kids won't be able to go into my sewing room to see how fat they have gotten since the last time they seen them. It was always a family joke around here. "Geez mom, what are you feeding them?" I would tell them to save two biscuits at supper time for the rats. I guess now they can all fight over those two biscuits that won't be left over. There is a big empty space in my sewing room now. I guess a nice plant would be better for the air in there then poor Boots and Socks.

Introducing Socks

You all know about sad little Twitchy. What a saga that was! I called Shawn on Thursday to tell him about the poor little thing. He agreed that the dogs caused him great stress, which ended his little life. I asked him to please bring another mouse/rat for Timmy's snake.

"And what ever you do please don't let me see it."

He laughs. He arrives on Sunday with a huge bucket. I always wonder what is next when he comes in with a bucket. It is always alive.

I said, "Hey, did you bring a rat for Timmy?"

He says, "Yes I did, and I brought one for you too."

My heart fell. Oh no, not again. Why? He comes to me with his hands cupped and opens them up. And all I could say was awllllllll. I immediately took the little thing from him. He is a special kind of rat. A curly haired rat, Shawn tells me. He has all kinds of waves in his hair. He is a dark charcoal color and has 4 tiny white feet. I immediately named him Socks. But I did not want to keep him. A rat! He was the center of attention most of the day. Jeremy held him for a long time and he is so cute. Never nibbles on you and his little nose twitches all the time.

A rat!

I can't believe this.

I had to go to work on Monday and tell the ladies. They laughed at me again. On the way home I was thinking I would call Jeremy and see if he would like to take him. He has an empty aquarium and he sure liked the little guy. We stopped at the pet store to pick up Timmy that day and Scot asked Shawn if they had any rat cage's he could look at. Ooh no, I know what that means. If I don't say anything now the rat will be mine forever. I kept quiet. The cages on the pet store are really too expensive so I decided we could get one at Wal-Mart for less. We leave and are on our way to Wal-Mart. The whole time I am thinking that I can say never mind. I will call Jeremy and see if he wants it. But the words never came out. I kept thinking about how cute his little fuzzy fur is and about how sweet he is.

A rat!

I am loosing my mind.

We get to Wal-Mart and it is a big family decision to get the right cage. Timmy is going for the biggest and fanciest cage there is. Notice he is not paying. I make the decision and we get the smaller one. It is really a hamster cage with a wheel and a water bottle and a little house. He will out grow it one day but for now it will do. Off we go. When we get home I unload it and put it together. I don't have any cedar chips at this time so I shred up some newspaper and fix him all up. He looked so happy in there and got busy shuffling stuff around. I put him back in my sewing room so the dogs would not have another fight and frighten him. I fell asleep on the couch that night and when Scot woke me up for bed I decided to peek at my new little buddy before I went to bed. My heart literally jumped when I looked in there. There were two of them! Then I remembered Timmy's rat. Guess that stupid snake is still not hungry. His rat is not nearly as cute as mine is though. But he will have to be Boots to match Socks. There they were scurrying around together. I sighed and closed the door again.

Every morning I go and see them before work. Then I visit them after work and say good night to them before bed. They really are cute the way they snuggle together and run around and play. You know the old saying that someone's hair looks like a rat's nest? I know just how that saying came about. When I clean the cage out I take newspaper and tear it in long strips so they can do what they like to do. They build a nest. It is mounded high to the top of the cage and all pushed to one end. It is truly amazing! It must be a lot of work too. Then they live right in the center of it and poke there little heads out when I go to see them. Socks likes me already. If I stick my hand in the cage he just crawls right into it. I think Jeremy really tamed him on Sunday with all the holding he did. Okay, so he is cute. And I know I am crazy when I hold him and pet him. And I know I am crazy when I brush him close to my cheek and let him smell my face. He is so cute and so sweet. What can I say? My mom thinks I have lost it, she may be right but there are two rats in this world that will not be snake food after all.

Bad Twitchy!

This is the smartest mouse I have ever seen. Where did we leave off at on this story? It is not over yet!

Sunday morning (the next day) when Timmy woke up the first thing he said when he came out of his room was not good morning but, 'Did you take Twitchy out of my room?"

"No," I said and noticed that he has a permanent name now.

"Well, that's it! He had his chance, and he is snake food for sure now!"

Again we searched all over the house for Twitchy. He was no where to be found. Naturally it was my fault. I was the one who so lovingly put the empty toilet paper roll in the bowl for him to sleep in. It seems he is using it for a ladder instead of a bed. The kids all showed up for Sunday dinner and I warned the girls that Twitchy was loose. Jinny looked a little worried and Chrissie just started laughing. She is use to critters, she lives with Shawn. Shawn raises his eyebrows and asks who Twitchy is. And then he tells me as he shakes is head, "You are not suppose to bond with the snakes food." Well, no one told me this in the first place.

Everyone left and it was just about 11 o'clock and we were soon ready for bed. Then there was a small flash of white scurrying across the floor. It's Twitchy! Under the couch he goes. I think BJ (the dog) was the one who spied him first. With BJ at one end of the couch, me at the other, and Timmy in the middle with a yardstick we were going to get Twitchy somehow. I laughed at BJ from the other end of the couch. It was so funny seeing his little bug eyes looking under there as though he was truly going to help us get this mouse. He was probably looking for a midnight snack. Twitchy is the most scurrying little thing I have ever seen. What with all the dust under the couch and Timmy swishing the yardstick back and forth I couldn't breathe. Surely it was killing Twitchy too. We were closing in on him. Timmy finally got him by the tail but could not pull him out. I got him on the other side and cupped him in my hands.

"I got him!", I yelled.

Then he squirmed out of my hands again. Of course Timmy yelled at me. Not fair. I didn't yell at him when he let go of his tail. To the other end of the couch he went. Scot just kept his feet up and tried to finish watching his TV show while we looked like idiots scuffling around chasing a mouse. He ran to where BJ was, and Timmy yelled, "He's coming B. Get ready to catch him". By this time it was getting really funny, but Timmy was not laughing as much as I was. He failed to see the humor in all of it. That's because he was not looking at how funny BJ was. He was starting to snort and slobber with all the excitement. Twitchy was still heading in the direction of the dog, I think he saw his beady eyes focused on him and froze. With the yardstick in hand, Timmy was now able to steer him in the direction we needed him to go. Out from under the couch he came and he ran right behind the dogs toy box. With me on one side and BJ on the other side, licking his lips and glaring at him with those little beady eyes, he was trapped. BJ was just waiting for his next move. Timmy got him. There was much triumph in his smile too.

"I got you know you stupid mouse!"

He put him in back in his bowl with the usual comment.

"That's it buddy, your snake food now!"

He went to the kitchen, with a strut in his walk, and put saran wrap over the top and secured it. He punched a few holes in it and said, "There! Now try to get out". Do you think, if we had a covering over the top of it in the first place this would not have happened? Twitchy was safe for now, until tomorrow comes. But please note he did not get placed in the cage with the snake. The excitement was over and now we could go to bed.

Monday morning comes and the excitement continues. After my shower I was wondering about the bedroom to get dressed. I noticed Noah (the other dog) and Poopers (the cat) staring under the desk in there.

"Oh no," I said, "is it twitchy?"

I got on my hands and knees (butt naked) and looked to see what it was. It was only a rubber dog toy. I got it out and said, "Here Noah". He was not interested in it and kept his watchful eyes under the desk. The cat continued to stare also. She started twitching her tail up and down and back and forth. You know, the way they do it when they see prey. I had this feeling, so I decided to check again. I gently slid my hand under the desk from one end to the next. And guess what? I had Twitchy in my hand. Darn little bugger! I put him in the bathtub until I could get some clothes on to take him back to Timmy's room. I must hurry before the cat discovers where I put him. I placed him in his bowl again and noticed the saran wrap was still in tack. How in the world did he do it? I took out the empty toilet paper roll, which I so lovingly put in there to keep the bugger warm. Maybe Timmy is right? But notice he did not take it out either. I hope he stays in there for now. Timmy has not put him in with the snake yet. I think he feels sorry for me because I have gotten attached to little Twitchy. How did this happen?

Again, I remember what Shawn told me, "Mom, you are not supposed to bond with the food". How could I have known? I wonder if there will be another chapter to Twitchy's life?

The Arrival of Twitchy

In just one day of my life a lot can happen. And today was a very eventful day. It started early this morning after Scot and I got up and showered. We went to get groceries and then just one more stop before we were on our way home. Scot's supervisor is leaving for another job, and the people at work got together and decided on a going away gift for him. I don't know if Scot was elected or volunteered, but we were on our way to a place called ---------EX-treme videos. It is an old trailer house that was gutted out and is now a place where you can rent "those" kinds of movies.

Our mission: a blow up sheep.

Interesting gag gift don't you think? I was a little nervous but curious at the same time. I was surprised to see a very neat and tidy store. But I was uncertain about venturing around. What we needed was right at the front counter. Thank goodness Scot had called the day before. The lady that was working there was an older lady and very nice. That surprised me too. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't her. Her Kitty cat named snowball was there with her too. I guess he kept her company all day in between customers. We were waiting for a guy to check out his movies and had a few minutes to look at what was under the glass at the front counter. I hope I was not blushing. Hmmmmm, interesting.

As we were getting ready for our turn to check out. Scot, with a serious look in his eyes (he's good at that) announces loudly, "Is there anything else you need here?" I had about 10 seconds of terrible anger at him. Then he grinned at me and I could not help but to smile back. Yes, I was embarrassed, but only for a minute. He is so bad! As we got to the jeep I told him he was not as funny as he thought he was, and he laughed again.

We went home and put the groceries away and I went to check on Twitchy. Who is Twitchy you ask? Let me back up a few days. Timmy brought home a snake from the pet store last weekend. He had it a few days before I even noticed it. Next thing I know there is this adorable little white mouse with a pink nose and twitchy whiskers. Unfortunately he was the snakes dinner. The snake has not been very interested in Twitchy. So we have spent a lot of time holding Twitchy and feeding him. He's pretty cute, and I can't imagine that he is snake food. I am tired of hearing Timmy tell him he is on death row! He was keeping Twitchy in his bathroom sink until the snake decides he's hungry. Poor Twitchy spends every so often in the snake cage but always makes it out safely. Timmy was not prepared with a cage for the mouse. That bothered me, and I wasn't crazy about him living in the bathroom sink. Who would have guessed he would have such a finicky snake? So I found a deep, large bowl and put Twitchy in it.
I shredded up some paper towels and put an empty toilet paper roll in there for him. I added some cereal and a tiny water dish made from the bottom of a bathroom cup. Sweet Twitchy. I wanted him to be safe from the cats so I placed him in my sewing room and closed the door.

Okay, lets get back to the present time. Groceries are put away and I am off to see about Twitchy.

He is not there.

Bad Twitchy!

I don’t know were Twitchy is but I guess he will not be snake food after all. We looked for him but that was useless. Two cats and two dogs in this big house, I hope he is safe until we find him. And I certainly hope Twitchy was not pregnant. Our electricity went out next. It's about 50 degrees today and it is slowly but surely getting cold in the house.

Poor Twitchy!

Something fell off the electric pole outside and they are fixing it (two hours later). It is getting near dinnertime and we are starting to get bored. No TV, no radio, and alas, no video games for Timmy. He is getting restless and starting to annoy me in his special way. And we have not found that mouse yet! A most interesting day it has been.

Oh Happy Day!

We found Twitchy! He appeared later in the evening. Timmy was in his room playing video games and I heard a shout.

"Mom, I found the mouse! Come here and help me."

He was trying to escape in the closet. He scurried into a bag with all kinds of " Timmy stuff" and we had to dig through old batteries and used lighters, papers and drawings all folded up. Speaker wire and old remote control that are worthless. Someone around here is a pack rat. Twitchy is now in a fish bowl with food and more paper towels and the empty toilet paper roll.

Cute Twitchy.

Timmy said if I pay for another mouse he wouldn't feed Twitchy to that darn old snake. Those were not his exact words, he likes the snake. I do to, but not if he is going to eat Twitchy. This is Twitchy's lucky day! I agreed and promised that I will not look at or touch the next furry critter than came into this house. It's awful being a softie.