Humane Mole Control, Dog Anxiety & Lockdown Grilled Cheese

Henrique Couto has a mole—or vole, or gopher—problem. Fresh tunnels and dirt piles are damaging his front yard and have already contributed to a sore ankle, but he does not want to kill the animals. He and Michelle investigate solar sound stakes, castor-oil granules, alarming dried-blood products and her theory that Henrique should simply make friends with the creatures. The internet offers absolute confidence in every direction and very little certainty.Wildlife is only the beginning of the animal chaos. Henwolf is home after surgery wearing a giant recovery cone that crashes through furniture and terrifies Chicano. Pain medication upset her stomach, and the dogs’ normal routines have been replaced by incision checks, cleanup and cone repairs. Nearby fireworks reveal how severe Chicano’s noise anxiety can become, leading Henrique to research a veterinarian-prescribed oral gel and immediately encounter contradictory message-board horror stories.The hosts step back to ask why frightening anecdotes so easily overpower professional advice. A neighborhood complaint about a veterinary hospital reminds Henrique of grieving people who blame medical staff after a loss, even when no malpractice is established. Michelle admits she could not handle telling families that a patient had died, and “sociopath Michelle” responds by scheduling every death for the same convenient afternoon. These jokes and anecdotes are not medical, veterinary, medication, pest-control or animal-care guidance.Food finally offers relief. Henrique tries traditional cucumber sandwiches with white bread, cream cheese, mayonnaise, dill and chives, then abandons the trimmed crusts for a full-size version. That sparks a survey of grilled cheese, quesadillas, favorite cheeses and Michelle’s fantasy of living far from people in a forest, growing vegetables and relying on a hunting dog who does the hunting alone. Contains profanity, animal-surgery and medication details, fireworks anxiety, death and malpractice discussion, Hitler and serial-killer jokes, plus repeated inserted social-casino advertisements.LinksEmail the hosts: [email protected]