So we were just getting to sleep last night when we heard the dogs rustling around at the foot of our bed. I turned on the light and when I did, Lauri discovered a rat by her side of the bed. A RAT!, A RAT! And the chase was on! 
The chihuahua and the retriever managed to run him down the hall and into the living room, with mom and dad close behind. We must have woken Hannah with all the whoopin'  and hollerin'  . . . She found a flashlight and Lauri went to grabbing brooms and blankets so she could trap and pulverize the little thing. I went to the garage and retrieved my trusty Benjamin pellet pistol, a gift from a friend many years ago. The dogs were still on the scent, and indicated the culprit might be under a chair. As I pumped up the Benjamin, Hannah shone the flashlight under there, and sure enough, we spied two beady eyes staring at us. I took careful aim . . . (actually I couldn't see the damn sights on the pistol, so I went back to the bedroom and grabbed my glasses) . . . and POP! He ran for about two feet and dropped. I whacked him with the broom for good measure, but that was more for show. He was already assuming room temperature. Roxy, the retriever, did what good retrievers do, she picked him up.  Ewwww.
The rat is now in the trash bin, Roxy and Chili have been duly rewarded for their valor, and Hannah went back to bed and stuffed a towel under her door just in case . . .Lauri tossed and turned most of the night, and I slept with a loaded pellet pistol on the night stand. After church I might carve a notch in the handle.