An Example of My Life Influencer

Cats are not animals my father is overly fond of and rabbits are animals that he likes. In his backyard, there is a family of rabbits that live under his shed and eat the grass that grows. He's not trying to keep vegetables growing and he doesn't mind them. He does mind the stray and loose house cats that wander his backyard, looking to leave rabbit guts in a not-so-neat little pile every where.

Dad had a problem. His dilemma was to find a way to keep the cats out of his yard.

When I arrived at his house last Sunday, I noticed a couple of things that didn't seem in place and didn't seem like normal items for my father to have.

The first is an attachment on his faucet in the basement that is designed for easier pouring of water into specific objects.

The second thing I noticed was the bag of water balloons.

The third thing I noticed was the stash of filled water balloons sitting next to the backdoor.

As it turns out, Dad went to Target (a local retail store) to purchase these water balloons. The bag was the only item he bought. As he was checking out, this is the conversation he had with the woman:

Woman: These look like fun! Are they for your kids?
Dad: No, they are for cats.
W: Oh! Do they like to play with them?
D: No, it is a non-lethal way to get them out of my backyard.

She wouldn't talk to him or make eye contact after that.

He is hoping that if the cats get a little wet, they will stay away from his yard. If it doesn't work, he may put a safe dye in the balloons so the owners realize that letting their cats out is illegal. Last case scenario, he will get live traps and give the cats to animal control. He doesn't want to hurt the cats in any way and mostly he just doesn't like them loose because they can get hurt or cause hurt to other animals.

And that is my father. This is how he thinks.