Rat and The Heap of Dirt

We had a lazy start to the day today, The Owner and me and to be honest, as he has been working from home today I have spent much of it curled up on MY settee with my chin rested on his leg. No, he has genuinely been working! There was a bit of an upset earlier in the day when we went on patrol, and I am blaming certain factions on Facebook for this, who have encouraged me to believe that maybe fox poo might be more acceptable to The Owner's delicate nostrils and sensibilities than my poo of choice, badger, for rolling in. I have to report, having found a small dollop over by the cricket pitch this morning, that it is not. The Owner took particular exception to my rolling activities involving the said fox poo, so I won't be trying that again any time soon. Well, maybe. Come lunchtime, The Owner was sitting on MY settee, munching absent mindedly on a stale crust and I was sat beside him, dribbling a lot, when I noticed something move by the Ruddy Dyson cupboard. Perhaps I should explain at this point that there have been a lot of scratchings going on when the house has been quiet in recent weeks which The Owner put down to "Just the odd mouse, and it is a cottage so what can we expect?". Well, I am guessing that when he noticed it himself that wasn't quite what he had in mind! As I watched, there was more and more dirt being pushed out under the door and I did notice a rather large pair of whiskers at one point. Well when The Owner finally noticed it, the heap of dirt and rocks which I felt even Small Boy would have been proud of, was edging across towards the carpet. He jumped up with such a start that his mug of tea was sent flying although not so much as a crumb of his sandwich came my way and he nervously opened the cupboard door and instructed me to go in! Well I wasn't going in there!!!!! That is a job for Terrier!!!! Not a noble K9 with breeding such as I! I kept guard from the settee which was well off the floor as he nervously moved boxes and bags armed with a broom handle and his twelve bore. Presumable he was unaware of the rat the size of a small badger that was sat on the shelf watching him and I was not about to tell him in case I was sent in to retrieve it or something. Eventually he looked up and we had another of those beautiful moments when two species look into each other's eyes before Rat dived down the hole he had been so busy digging under the floors. The Owner has filled the hole with cement and piled some very large boxes over it. I just wonder whether that was the right thing to do really. I reckon in a few days time there could be a particularly ripe smell wafting around here for which I, for once, am not responsible.