Thursday, October 11, 2007

Jim and Betsy

Today's Seattle Rat Story
Last week we had a visit from erstwhile neighbors, our favorite, who live in Seattle now.  They were here so Jim could run in Sunday's  Army 10 Miler.  I was going to run with him, but I hurt my leg falling off the scaffold while installing a machine gun port in the B-52 (for du Toit). 

It was a mistake that we ever met Jim and Betsy.  He was Army, and rotating back to the states from Germany for his final assignment.  The Army allows you to pick the area since they wind up paying for you to repatriate anyway, so Jim chose home-state Washington.  The assignment officer, however, saw Washington DC and sent him to Fort Meade, MD.   But that's not what I'm writing about.

My AbbyOver lunch we got on the subject of  Seattle rats - I was thinking Jim McDermott and Norman Dicks, they were thinking Rattus norvegicus.  Evidently Seattle and environs are overrun by them.  Rats so big that you nail your rat trap to the floor so it doesn't run off with it after it snaps.  Anyway, their good friend raises Airedales, which elicited this story.  The guy's prize dog caught a rat and swallowed it alive - head first. The rat started gnawing away,  right  through the dog's throat!  The owner pulled Mr. Rat out by it's tail, then rushed Fido to the vet where it was saved.  Makes me hurt just thinking about it.

As an aside, they once again extended an invitation to visit them, and knock me over if Mother Superior didn't agree to this time.  I haven't told her what the B-52 is for.  She thinks it's my hobby.  Do I level the place before or after?  What if we meet a bunch of people I like?   Damn!  Militia commanders should not make friends, it makes things too hard.

PS- Private radio guy (his blog is on hiatus) sent me that RC B-52.  I think those are "Nerf" bombs, but what the hell.  How much does plastique weigh?  Send Money.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you've never been to Seattle Rog, you'll love the city. Great seafood, beautiful buildings, lots to do-to keep your mind off the teeming masses of RBMFs. One of my fav restaurants evah, Palisade, is there. Try it if you get a chance. I go once a year.
MM

Rodger the Real King of France said...

Been there many times on business, but nothing stands out except some bridge.

Anonymous said...

Uh, Rog, my liege, that is a B-47, not a B-52--still fully capable of turning Seattle (or better, San Fransicko) into the world's largest urban renovation project.

Anonymous said...

Uh, Roge, I doubt the rat ate through the 'dales throat - sounds like just more snopes food for me.

I used to own an Aire-head and I can assure you that they are more than capable of killing/eating a rat no matter how bitten.

Natural born marines.

-TF

Anonymous said...

My wife went downstairs the other morning to fix coffee, and while I was pulling my tired ass out of bed, the wife screams. Adrenaline flowing, I fly downstairs not knowing what to expect. Our nice little one-year-old kitten is sitting on the floor with a beheaded rat with both front legs missing (kitty apparently ate them). The cat was happy as could be, the wife was totally freaked, and I got to remove the carcass. Don't know about Airedales, but rats got nothin' on kitties.

Anonymous said...

ah cats, that story regarding the kitties, reminded me of this little fella. http://whatjeffkilled.com/index.html

Now thats a good cat.

Anonymous said...

Paul C,
I totally remember whatjeffkilled as a fun stop along the way. As the owner of cats, I have to add our pair rid one of our yards of ~~ grey squirrels, opossums, kangaroo rats (protected species in Cali,shhhh), mice, moles, gophers, lizards, and, a pair of yapping min-pins'. Okay. The min-pins were just chased home again. The previous were devoured.:) Truth

Anonymous said...

Having had Airdales I also don't believe that calumny for a second.

I also used to raise ferrets. The ex and I moved into an old townhouse in old Denver (13th and Downing) with a large male and 3 females. They found a way into the walls where there were evidently some rats. Bloody screaming fights all night long, then on the third night... NOTHING. Silence. The next day our new neighbors asked my wife if we had cats. Or something. She said they looked like they hadn't slept well.

Anonymous said...

came out in the backyard to see Amos (Big German Shepard) hacking up something. Turns out to be a partially digested possum skull. Looked around and found a tail and a foot. later that day found a few pin sized scabs under his neck fur. He was good at making cats teleport too.

Anonymous said...

Cassie (Amos's successor) could hear the gophers running and digging beneath the lawn. She would stand over where they were going to come up. She would snap and pull and the gopher would fly but never hit the ground.

Anonymous said...

Some years ago, a friend's Westie killed a raccoon in their back yard. I've never seen a dog swagger as much as he did afterward.

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