Rocky da Squirrel: Public Enemy Number Two
I went out through the garage on my way to feed the horses one night several weeks ago and something large and furry raced out from under the shelves in the corner and ran under my truck. I got down on my sore knees to see what it was but it had disappeared out into the desert darkness. I thought.
I caught glimpses of the critter hopping at blinding speed across the patio and several more times in the garage over the next couple of weeks. It never slowed down enough to get a really good look at it, which is probably a good thing. I might have developed an emotional attachment if I'd been able to see it well. I knew it was a largish rodent. I knew it had big, round, Mickey Mouse-like ears. I Googled Arizona rodent images and discovered our new critter was a Pack Rat. "Aww how CUTE!" I thought and then spent a few minutes giggling about model parts, shiny bolts and such disappearing from the garage, only to turn up in a cozy little nest somewhere.
Just about the time I saw the pack rat for the first time, the engine light came on yet again in my truck. I'd just taken the darned thing in two weeks before and two weeks before that and two weeks before that. This particular week I just didn't have time to sit in town an entire day while the dealership figured out what was wrong this time, so I ignored the light.
The following week, the truck started dying at traffic lights. I called and made an appointment to have the dealership check out this latest problem. "Thank heaven for warranties!" Over the weekend the "Check Fuel Cap" warning came on. I checked the fuel cap. It was there. It was on. "Fab. Just fab." I added this latest nuisance to the growing list I would present to the service department.
In the meantime, the pack rat continued to play in the garage. I did begin to worry when I found a small pile of pack rat poop under my truck one morning. We did begin to wonder what was going on when we began to find small shreds of chewed rubber in the garage and on the driveway. Nothing, however, prepared me for Roger at the service department handing me a totally chewed up vacuum hose and the oxygen sensor with mangled wiring and telling me "You have a friend." Apparently pack rats (which we now have) AND ground squirrels which we have had an over abundance of since last April, love the taste of greasy rubber truck parts.
Rat chewed truck parts are not covered by warranty. $512.00 and 7 hours later, the truck runs fine. Truck ran great, as a matter of fact, straight to Safeway for a box of rat treats. $5.00 later there's a cache of lovely green hors d' oeuvres in each corner of the garage and a small offering under the truck at night. A friend suggested that we just park in the garage at night. Since the ground squirrels chewed big access holes in the rubber strip at the bottom of the door, it hardly seems worthwhile to empty the garage so that the vehicles will fit. The rodents would probably just think we'd done them a service by delivering dinner to their doors.
The Evidence
No comments:
Post a Comment