I vacuumed the mouse

The title sounds funny, but it's not. Number Six is a wild mouse, so the cleaning protocol goes like this: remove bedding from one side of the aquarium, vacuum up the poops, seed husks, and whatnot. Add fresh bedding, move the nest over, remove the other half of the old bedding, vacuum. This time, as I started the vacuum, there was a little blur of motion from the nest, and he disappeared. All in the literal blink of an eye.

( an unhappy ending )

We trapped him on Nov 3, the day after the election. He was too wild to make a great pet, but he was a good mouse, and so cute. I feel terrible about this, not least because I had taken responsibility for his care and upkeep. His parents, siblings, friends, and relations, we released into the state forest. They've all no doubt been eaten by foxes or owls or something by now, but they were responsible for their own survival.

What else can I say? It was accidental, instantaneous, noiseless (damn near imperceptable), and very very final.