The sun was setting when we headed out, but I took neither the flashlight nor the flashing armband. The smell of barbecues followed us around as we discussed retrievers. labs, border collies, and cockapoos. I miss having a dog, going to look at pups one day soon.

My walking companion heard strange noises coming from her bathroom one night. Hmmm, I thought, this seems familiar. She said it sounded almost like a neighbor was dragging a garbage can around. I asked if it came from the tub area. Maybe the wall next to the tub, she said. She figured it was a rat that had gotten in a crawl space.

Years ago, we had a similar disturbance. Something larger than a rat was under the tub area in the boys’ bathroom. It sounded distressed. I asked one of the kids to bring me a basketball. We pounded the tub for hours, and the sounds ceased.