Rodents in the Air and On Ground

Have you ever been on a plane and felt like something brush your feet, but you just convinced yourself it was the AC or someone else's bag? Well, it might have been something more. Seventeen mice were found on an American Airlines plane that regularly flies between NY and Los Angeles, spurring the debate, which town has some pests? And while mice are tiny and cute, they had been chewing through wires and were building nests in the oxygen generators for oxygen masks. Now, we know it's not possible, but how crazy would it have been for the oxygen masks to come falling down and mice along with it? (And yes, this is great for Snakes On a Plane jokes!)

But those high-flying mice would have been no match for Oscar and Paxil, a pair of dogs on the Upper West Side who apparently love nothing more than gutting rats found on the street or in Riverside Park. The NY Times' City section looked at how a Lab-and-pit bull mix and a little Cairn terrier clear the streets, with writer Judith Reese Gorfain (and owner of Welsh springer Missy) chatting wtih Paxil the terrier's owner, Linda Fidelman:

A few days later I met Ms. Fidelman. I was on my way back from the park with Missy, and she was standing on the corner, Paxil sitting beside her, looking bored. Was it true, I asked, that Paxil was a ratter?

“She sure is,” Ms. Fidelman replied. “And she’s great mouser, too. I once had mice in my apartment, and she had the best time catching them.

“We were out the other night, and she stopped at a trash can near the subway station,” Ms. Fidelman continued. “She was really excited. I took the lid off, and about 20 mice came pouring out. She went crazy chasing them. I think she got about 10.”

...[S]he elaborated about the rats. Paxil and Oscar do their hunting late at night, during their last walks of the day. They began their crusade a couple of years ago, when they met in Riverside Park and prey was abundant. Paxil is an expert at flushing rats out of their hiding places. When she does, if they’re small enough, she’ll grab one and shake it until its neck snaps.

But once they’re dead, she has no further interest in them. If the rat is too big for her to lift off the ground, she leaves it to Oscar, whose steel-trap jaws and quickness make short work of the biggest, most intimidating rat.

The picture of the two dogs is pretty cute - you would never think they had such bloodlust. The best part of the story is that Oscar and Paxil are rescue dogs; you can see more rescue dogs (and cat and rabbits) here.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts and Events on July 17, 2006 4:40 PM

Comments [rss]

Christopher

In addition to the diseases carried by rodents and the likelihood that the area was treated with rat poison, there is plenty of other nastiness a dog could encounter if permitted to dig through trash - food poisoning, household chemicals, broken glass, etc.

robo

gotta love these NYC rats...guess they just want to vacation in LA

nisey79

Love the story about Oscar and Paxil. My folks have a cairn terrier named Lux--he frequently catches squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and birds.

nisey79

Chewed-up wires can cause much more than oxygen masks to come tumbling down. If the insulation is stripped from wires, a stray spark can ignite gas fumes, resulting in a mid-air explosion.

bob

All that freight in the cargo hold of the plane has been sitting around numerous warehouses before it's placed in the cargo hold.

anonymous

timbnyc, I think there's a huge difference between encountering those things on the street and making an effort to keep your dog away from them vs. encouraging your dog to dig in the trash for rats.

timbnyc

Exactly where in Manhattan could you walk a dog without chancing rodenticde, rotten food or broken glass?

CLM

Those oxygen generators start generating when a string is pulled, and they make a LOT of heat. The Valujet plane that went down in the Everglades in the 80s crashed because an oxygen generator started up while in a cardboard box, causing a fire... just imagine what can happen if mice build a nest next to an oxygen generator and then set it off chewing on the string that starts it up!

anonymous

Thanks, KipEsquire, I was wondering if I was the only person disturbed by that article! Not only do those people let their dogs eat rats, they think it's cute. And so does the Times, apparently. I don't get it. In addition to the diseases carried by rodents and the likelihood that the area was treated with rat poison, there is plenty of other nastiness a dog could encounter if permitted to dig through trash - food poisoning, household chemicals, broken glass, etc.

Stevennnn

How do the rats get on the plane in the first place?

KipEsquire

These people are idiots.

News flash: Rodents bite too. And they carry diseases and insect parasites.

And the areas where the dogs are most likely to find them are also the places most likely to have been treated with rodenticide.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.