Rat in the toilet!!

[Amy A.]

I recently received a frantic phone call from a tenant at 10 pm.  Since she seemed distraught, I called her back and found that there was a rat in her toilet!  At first, my husband told me she would have to handle it herself.  I convinced him that as a single woman and a good tenant, he should help her get rid of the rat.  He thought she was probably over-reacting to a little mouse that fell in her toilet, so he brought a small bucket and fireplace tongs to take care of it.

It was a gigantic sewer rat!  He ended up chasing it all over her bathroom for about a half hour before he caught it!  I bravely stayed outside to comfort the tenant while her dog cowered in the back room, lol.   Apparently, old city sewers can fill with rainwater, forcing rats up side lines and into toilets.  Always turn on the lights and look before you sit!

My question is, if we had been unavailable,  who would we have called to take care of this at 10 pm?  Is this something that a professional property manager would have dealt with or would they have ignored it until office hours?  The tenant called 911, but they didn't have much sympathy, as you can imagine.

[Bill Gulley]

Some things in life need to be accomplished on your own toughness! The dog was smart to sty away, critters will run from humans, usually, but may fight other animals when cornered and any dog can be bitten, so you just avoided a vet bill and a period of observation.

I only chase checks down and sometimes two legged critters.

Hang a BB gun next to the toilet paper! :)