And the world breathes a sigh of relief

Only scraps remain as proof of how well Kona and Julius did their job, of protecting the populace from evil squirrel domination. And it’s interesting to see that while the yellow IDR tag was left relatively unscathed, the metal tags – i.e. those that apparently looked way too similar to the blasted mouse medallions for the boys’ comfort – were completely mangled. Hmm. I wonder how I get those replaced?

(We imagine the scene as Tasha ventures to the Cook County Repository of Documents, Certifications, and Licenses, aka the 7th Circle of Hell)

Clerk: NEXT!
Me: I was wonderi…
Clerk: YES or NO! Are you next??!
Me: I think s….
Clerk: What do you want? Speak up!
Me: I need to get these tags replaced.
Clerk: Rabies tag? I need to see a certificate in quadruplicate and notarized as evidence of the latest rabies shot.
Me: But he didn’t get a new rabies shot, he…
Clerk: You just said he needed a new rabies tag. Are you lying to me?
Me: NO! I mean, I just need replacement tags, the old ones got mangled.
Clerk: So you’re saying that you didn’t get a new rabies shot for your animal, and now you’re coming here trying to get me to bend the rules for you by giving you new tags?
Me: I….but….no……oh, forget it. Where’s the cashier? I’ll just pay for new ones……..

At least we should be able to avoid this issue in the future, as Kona is now sporting a very spiffy collar with trout on it, trout being a species not trying to take over the world, at least as far as Kona and Julius know. And as we can see by the picture of Kona and Terra wrestling, with Julius chewing on a bone, the boys are very pleased with their earlier efforts, as they should be. I just shudder to think of what might have been, had that collar been allowed to go on its way unabated….