By the dark of the moon on the tenth of June, a lone dark gray Toyota Tacoma headed home from a night at the VFW, making the turn onto Pig Pen Drive her destination in sight. It was a clear night, yet unbeknown to the driver a 100 or more bandits were waiting just beyond her driveway.

The Lady behind the wheel had heard about these bandits, a terrible gang of thieves headed up by two characters known as Tip and Tac, told to her by the Manager at the Hardware Store just a day earlier. The whole town was concerned it was that time of year, and to add to it the store itself had been attacked by a new band of murderers who some say were headed up by the notorious Crow named Fast Edger and his wife Panelapie. It might have been Tip and Tac, but 50 lbs. of fish food had been vandalized and there were feathers everywhere, it looked like whoever did the crime had a party just outside the back room.

It had only been a month or so that this nice lady and her family had moved to Anza, American Veterans they were, looking for the quiet and peacefulness of The Rural American lifestyle. As the lady and her husband made it onto the driveway, they heard some noises but paid no attention and went inside. There on the couch was their cat named Crusty. On the floor was their dog Two Fingers, “Fingers” for short. It was late so off to sleep they went.

3:00AM and suddenly the horn started honking and the lights were flashing.  “Someone is trying to steal our truck!” Out the door the husband ran guns in both hands, his wife hiding near the bed a Mossberg shotgun trained at the door. Crusty under the bed and fingers in the closet, the husband approached the truck but found no one. It must have been a defect in the Alarm he thought, because he could not get it to stop. Disconnecting the battery and finally quiet and peace had been restored.

As dawn approached the couple awakened again, this time noises from the shed, again the husband went to investigate and found nothing except that a new bag of dog food was gone. After breakfast things got worse when after re-connecting the battery on the Toyota Truck it would not start, and it smelled like smoke when trying to start it. The truck was brand new, so they called the dealer who dispatched a tow truck to investigate and bring it in if necessary. It wasn’t long and the truck

arrived Mr. Ray Spark at the wheel. Ray was no stranger to Anza and informed the couple that in his opinion it was likely the Tic and Tac Gang that ate the wiring in the new Toyota and stole the dog food. This Gang of Rats and Mice had been working in the area for weeks. Sure enough, after the dealer diagnosed the problem, it was discovered that several wiring harnesses had been destroyed, and the gang out of pure disrespect had defecated on the truck’s computer. The damage was $10,000.00 and there is no warranty for rodent damage.

For an American Veteran this was an act of war, but how do you fight this kind of enemy? Neighbors suggested getting some cats, but after a couple of weeks the gang was still in the area and the cats had either run off or had become lunch for coyotes. As the situation seemed hopeless, the couple put an ad in the local paper, this one of course, looking for anyone who could help. They got a reply from a local resident who said they needed to Build a Cat House, with an enclosure, a water bowl, Large Cat Box, something to climb, and a good supply of Cat Food, not the cheap stuff either. If you do all these things a couple of friends of mine will pay you a visit and if they like what they see, they will end your nightmare.

The couple did as instructed went to Tractor Supply, bought one of those large kennel cages, built a couple of condos inside, put a roof over the top and filled it with everything they thought a cat might like. They consulted Crusty to try it out and he loved it, so they made a phone call and sent pictures of the new Cat House.

The next day they got a phone call back “Go to the front door I have sent you two of Anza’s finest, there they were sitting side by side on the porch a twenty-pound Tabby, known as Monster, and a fifteen-pounder named Bumm Squeak. Immediately the couple showed them the new Cat House and Bumm Squeak and Monster moved right in.

The next morning Bumm Squeak and Monster had called in a few friends and by evening when it was time to go in, there weren’t as many of the Tic and Tac gang as there had been before.

The story is based on actual events. But all the names were changed to protect the innocent. The story is also a reminder that if we have pets for whatever reason we owe them not just