Last week we had an adventure with a bat. I did not want an adventure with a bat. It was finals week, I had plenty to do!
I never saw a bat up close until I moved into this house. In fact, I don't remember encountering bats until I moved into Michigan. When we first moved in, I noticed Shasta kept going over to our VCR and sniffing around. It sat on the cover for the storage area for the wood bin, so it connected to the garage. Long ago, the previous owners converted the fire place to gas, so there is not use for it anymore. Except as an entry point for bats. I suddenly noticed this little brown head that kept peeking up. I FREAKED out, managed to scare it back into the wood box and Martin sealed it off from the house side. I recall him telling me to put on a hat. I said "why"?, and he said "because you don't want it getting caught in your hair". That just about did me in. Another time he noticed one swooping around one evening. He was afraid to tell me, but eventually had to. The next day, while cleaning the living room, I discovered it sleeping from the beam on the ceiling. Martin managed to get it out of the house.
This latest escapade began last Wednesday night. Martin had been gone, and I had thought it curious that Shasta was not hanging out around the family room couches with Maggie and I. Now I think she was sniffing out the bat. Shortly after Martin got home, I noticed something swoop out of the corner of my eye and both dogs leaped into the air. It swooped again and I realized what it was, and the dogs excitedly tried to catch it so Martin hurried them out the back door and then ran for something, leaving me in the room with the bat. I realized it had fallen into one of my plants and was now creeping down the side of the pot. Then it fell to the ground - which made me think it was stunned or hurt. I was screaming for Martin to HURRY UP, then threw HIS coat over it. That didn't work, it creeped out and hid under some papers, then almost got under some storage bins. I knew it could head into our game storage cabinet so I was trying to direct Martin with his net. Then I really looked at the net. The net with the HUGE holes intended to catch a very small bat! So then he threw the stock pot over it. We got our bearings and then I got the net close to the pot, and we sort of just threw all of it out the back door (by this time we had put the dogs upstairs). Then we stood at the window staring at the net, trying to figure out if the bat was gone.
The next afternoon, I noticed Shasta and Maggie - well, their butts I should say, as they tried to crawl under the step from the deck. I couldn't figure out what was so fascinating to them that they would get themselves stuck under the step. Whenever I tried to peek under, in their excitement they would either knock me over, lick my face, or push me out of the way. Shasta was barking a bark I had never knew before. FINALLY, I got a peek. Now I know that Shasta has a "I found a bat" bark. Apparently, the poor bat must have crawled through the boards on the deck, and eventually fell asleep under the step. I tried to just keep the dogs in the house until evening, and hoped the bat would fly away that night (AFTER eating as many mosquitoes in the back yard as possible).
Friday morning, I noticed Maggie playing with something (JANE - quit reading now!). She always plays with whatever so I didn't think much of it. She eventually wanted in, and just hung around the family room. Some time later, I happened to glance over at what looked like a leaf on the floor. You can guess the rest. I screamed for Martin and he disposed of it, so our next adventure was a trip to the Vet. Dr. McNeilly seemed not too concerned, and a little amused, and gave them both their rabies booster. We went ahead and did their yearly shots and heart worm test, so that bat turned out to be VERY expensive for us!
Please, God, don't let any bats come in the house while Martin is away!
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