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Amateur detectives needed: Missing dog food

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with eXp Commercial, Referral Divison RRE-BRO-LIC-75443

Put on your thinking caps and get your problem solving skills in gear.  We need help solving this strange problem.

dog food(And we don't know what the answer is, so this isn't a trick question.)

A month or so ago, we found a bunch of dog food inside a drawer of clothes.

A few weeks later, we found a handful of dog food inside a drawer in a different dresser.

A week later, we found another handful of dog food inside a drawer in yet another dresser.

All three dressers were in two adjacent rooms in a relatively unused portion of the house.

The only place dog food is stored is in the original bag on the floor in a cabinet in the kitchen near the refrigerator - approximately 30 feet from the dressers in question.  The closet has a loose saloon type door on it with hinges on one side.

We have ruled out any humans as being responsible for the movement of the dog food.

So the question is, what could have moved food?  Could mice?  There aren't any obvious holes in the floor and no obvious trail of food, but could a mouse have carried food and put it somewhere else?

If anyone has any ideas, that would be awesome.  We're quite confuddled.

Posted by

Kalispell, Bigfork, Lakeside and Somers areas. 

Are you getting ready to sell or purchase land or a home in Kalispell  or the surrounding vicinity? Let’s talk!

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Comments (8)

Mike Carlier
Lakeville, MN
More opinions than you want to hear about.

Years ago, I had a dog that decided she didn't like the food provided to her.  It was one of those low quality but cute brands like sausage and biscuits, or liver and cheese, or something like that.  Anyway, there were two distinct shapes and colors, and the dog only would eat one of them.  I decided she was not gong to win the battle and did not feed her until the bowl had been emptied.  Eventually it was empty, and another mealtime approached.  Same routine for about a week.  Then, I noticed that she was deliberately grabbing the particular type she had previously refused to touch.  I caught her carrying one mouthful at a time into the bedroom and depositing it behind a chair.  Further examination revealed another pile in a shoe in the closet, and another undder the bed.  She won the war. 

OK, my first thought is that it's mice.  They do make raids where they will haul away food and stash it somewhere.  There should be other mouse signs near where the food is stashed.  Second possibility, although remote, it could be the dog.

 

Oct 28, 2011 09:08 AM
Jill Sackler
Charles Rutenberg Realty Inc. 516-575-7500 - Long Beach, NY
LI South Shore Real Estate - Broker Associate

Absolutely mice. We had the same exact problem in our old house.

Oct 28, 2011 09:11 AM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Mike- Wow, that was one smart dog.  So mice DO stash food, so that does make this a good possibility.

Jill- Thank goodness.  I thought it was wierd to think mice might have done this.  But I see it's possible and we're not the only ones.  So it's time to get stern with the mice.....  if we can find them.

Oct 28, 2011 09:41 AM
David Gibson CNE, 719-304-4684 ~ Colorado Springs Relocation
Colorado Real Estate Advisers LLC - Colorado Springs, CO
Relocation, Luxury & Lifestyle residential

Kat it is hard to image that a mouse could carry more than 1 piece at a time so even a handful of dog food is a number of trips. Are you sure no humans are pulling your chain :-)

Oct 28, 2011 09:51 AM
Peter den Boer
Atlanta Communities - Woodstock, GA
MBA,GRI, Associate Broker, Realtor

Kat - I am thinking creepy ghosts at this time of year. Are you sure the house is not haunted by Scooby-do? 

Oct 29, 2011 01:38 AM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

David - I thought it was as bit crazy to think about that also, but it appears it is possible!  At first we definitely thought it was a human, but we did rule that out, so I'm thinking it has to be some sort of animal.....

Peter - or maybe a ghost....  I don't think it's Scooby, though.  I haven't heard anyone saying, "Rhut Rho"

Oct 29, 2011 02:18 AM
John McCarthy
North Hampton, NH
Realtor - Seacoast NH

Hi Kat,

I'm with Jill above. Sure sounds like mice. Rule of thumb: see or catch 1 mouse and know there are 10 more. They reproduce extremely quickly. Hope you survived the storm okay. We had about 6" of very heavy wet snow, lots of power outages and tree limbs down.

Oct 30, 2011 07:04 AM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

John-  We've caught quite a few mice; the neighbors cat got a few also, as did our dog.  ..  We had 17" of snow (!!!!) and were VERY lucky our power stayed on; although our Internet was off all day.  Thanks for stopping by!

Oct 30, 2011 12:31 PM