Woke up this morning, strolled into my bathroom and found a mouse sitting quietly in the drain. Unnerving. Clearly it had gotten in and could find no egress. Odds are it had been running around in there for most of the night, given the number of turds in the tub.

Clearly it wasn’t going anywhere, so I made myself some coffee and tried to figure out a plan of action. After a couple of sips I was reminded of something from chrisglass‘s website so I got up, emptied my recycling bin and broke off a tiny piece of dog biscuit and dabbed it into some peanut butter. I tossed it into the bin as bait and then put the bin on its side in the tub, while the mouse scrambled around the sloping porcelain walls trying to get away. Then it was waiting time, until the mouse calmed down, overcame its distrust of the bin and went for the snack. Once I knew it was inside I righted the bin and as the mouse leapt again and again for the opening, placed the plastic cover over top and walked downstairs and out to the curb, where I released the vermin into the wild of the city streets. Once out of the bin, It raced for a neighboring apartment building.

I know that the chances are fair that it will find its way back to my apartment, given where I turned it loose, but the alternatives seemed to be either taking it much further away or ending its life. I didn’t have the time for the former, and when I contemplated killing my captive, I found that I didn’t have the belly for the latter.