My beastly summer. WARNING - contains violence and adult themes.

Today was my last day of school before summer break. There was a Christmas party after class. My humans decided to skip it because they didn't want me to get sunstroke and m.e.l.a.n.o.m.a. I've seen m.e.l.a.n.o.m.a.s on telly. They are scary black things with little legs, like ticks but much bigger [at least on telly].



I suspect my humans were just being lazy though. They probably thought - it's a nice Sunday, why waste it on Georgia's last day of school and Christmas party? I'm upset that they had better things to do than take me to a party. Luckily, I still got to eat my bag of school treats.

It's been so hot and muggy. No one wants to do anything but sleep and sweat. The cicadas have woken up and won't stop talking. There are flies and mosquitoes everywhere. I've caught a few. They're not good to eat.

Flies like Mr Thumper a lot. He's so slow and messy when he eats, they get a good feed too.

Every night, my out-at-work human  brings out his Tools For Killing Mosquitoes. An extra large value pack of Raid and an extra large value pack of Mortein, in case the mosquitoes have become resistant to Raid. Mosquito coils and zappers. And a pot of citronella oil. It gets hard to breathe in the house and I'm sure we're all dying slowly from the fumes. The mosquitoes, however, seem to be fine.

Out in the backyard, Alfred's been singing all day and all night in his water pot. I've not mentioned Alfred before. He's our frog. We're not animal scientists, but we think Alfred may be lonely and looking for a girlfriend. There used to be another frog that lived in the water pot in our front yard. Her name was Agatha. One night, Agatha decided to cross the road. We don't know why, maybe just to see what was on the other side. She got killed by a car or a cat. Alfred could be crying for Agatha. That would be sad, but I hope he gets over it soon so we can all get some sleep.

Now that it's nice and hot, the mama and papa rats have been busy too and there's a new batch of baby rats. We can hear them scampering around the backyard at night. My stay-at-home human wants you to know that our house is clean and she vacuums, dusts and mops all the time. She doesn't know why there are rats in the backyard. It could be because we live in an area with a lot of fine restaurants, cafes and pubs. There's always a price to pay for being so close to fine restaurants, cafes and pubs.

Last week, one of the rats came into the house and ate a mango. My stay-at-home human was awfully cross. [She freaked out.] She immediately started disinfecting everything in case some little rat toes had run over her dining table and chairs. She insisted my out-at-work human trap and kill the rats.

My humans bought this rat trap in Chinatown. It works a lot better than the simple snap ones. There's a piece of yummy mango in it. I like mangoes.

The trap's been sitting outside for 4 nights now and no one's come to eat the mango. Maybe the rats have all moved next door to Millie and Indie's house.

My out-at-work human is not a good rat catcher. I don't think his heart's in it at all. He's worried he might catch a papa or mama rat. "Then, who'll look after their families?" he says. My stay-at-home human pooh-poohs on this sentiment, but isn't willing to get blood on her own hands.

"If no one wants the yummy mango, can I have it please?"

I wonder who looks after all the orphaned baby mosquitoes. I'm glad I'm a dog and don't have to think about these e.t.h.i.c.a.l issues.

Ever since the night the rat came into the house, I've been sleeping with my humans. I think it's a good idea to have someone who can protect me if another one pops up. I hear you can get sick if a rat bites you.

There are also a lot of possums in my neighbourhood. I like hunting possums.

I don't think I'll ever catch any though. They are too high up for me.

Sometimes, the possums are on the ground. This is when they're dead. A ranger told my out-at-work human they get killed by feral cats and foxes. There are some dangerous animals living in our parks.

My humans always scream very loudly when they see dead possums. It could be because they're scared of dead things. It could be because they don't like me rolling in the possum bits or eating them.

Last weekend, my out-at-work human put a curtain up for me so I won't get any m.e.l.a.n.o.m.a.s while I'm sleeping.

I love him for thinking about me.

Perhaps my stay-at-home human will remember to put some sunscreen on my belly soon.

I hope you're having

a *gReat  *summ*Er too!

Some fun summer reading:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/cicada.html

http://frogs.org.au/frogs/ofNSW/Sydney


Some important summer reading:
http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/summerheathhazards/tp/summerhazards.htm

http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/diseasesandconditions/qt/petsunscreens.htm

These ones are specially for my out-at-work human:

http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/ehs/rats.aspx

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:CpscqKXiYswJ:www.ufaw.org.uk/documents/GuidanceonhumanecontrolofrodentsFeb2509V19.pdf+how+to+kill+trapped+rats&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgu_-4-TB6NgjVzp6ZkXyy0zHhk6eqY_Fa0MJnCadpDbi4Qv8P6se9EhpYNVCYbQsm13SX1Nlce-7bJeI9hy8JkdhyYzEC3DpkSWUHBYVFA1X22NpSXNhMcPWsMwjB2ikwR2GeB&sig=AHIEtbRlwJJab9CJCt3mnodG4naSa4iZOQ&pli=1 

Some stuff from the last link:

"Release of an animal elsewhere is not necessarily a humane thing to do - translocated animals may fail to adapt to or integrate into new territory and may suffer and die as a result (Mason and Littin, 2003). Killing is much less likely to carry a risk of causing suffering than release in an unfamiliar area, and release of some species may be illegal."

"The following methods are considered to be humane:

• Destruction of the brain by a strong and accurate blow to the head with a suitable implement

• Lethal overdose of appropriate gaseous or injectable anaesthetic (this technology is not available for general use)

• Destruction of the brain by shooting"

???

Oh dear. Do we even have a gun? Only this one.

"Please don't hurt me. I just had a bath."

I think my stay-at-home human might just have to get used to sharing her mangoes with the rats.