60- I’m a Killer

Do not injure any being,
either strong or weak in the world.
— Sutta Nipata

 

I read the above quote on the Facebook Buddha Bless You page right after I killed a mouse!

I am house sitting, and there is at least one mouse that is quite blatantly not afraid of being seen. One ran alongside the back of my bed, and I guess had been sleeping under the pillows before I got there. I see it (or another) run along the stove and dive into the burner. Also, it runs out from under the fridge every night.

When told of the mouse during my “briefing”, I was worried. “It’s really quite cute” translated in my brain to, “please don’t kill our little mouse.” Fortunately, the home owner asked if I might put out traps, and I explained that the traditional mouse traps are much more ethical than the glue traps. Quicker=more humane.

Well, that was until tonight. Every time I have caught a mouse, the trap got the head; quick, probably painless. Tonight, it caught one thigh. Seeing the mouse struggle was hard for me. I don’t like killing them, but I also know they eat food and power cords and carry diseases. It was too late. I had to finish the job.

Now, I admit I euthanized hundreds of mice in my research. I was grateful to each one and thanked them all for their contributions to our health.

That means I know the most humane way to kill them. That sounds totally wrong, doesn’t it? To put it simply, I ended his misery quickly and cleanly.

BUT, I then read the quote above and felt horrible. My ex-husband couldn’t kill a fly, and when we had mice, he caught them and released them at the church a couple of blocks away. I guess he believed that’s where mice came from. Well, it didn’t help!

So, I sit here reading about buddhism, feeling bad about killing this mouse, and then a cat comes up to the screen door. Random! Cats don’t just come to the door and stare at you unless they live there.

I felt it was saying, “hey stupid, leave the mice to me.” I would have if I weren’t allergic to cats…

In Hawaii, we let the geckos and spiders run free and eat the other smaller pests, but what about mice?

Do you know of a better way to handle mice in the house?

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