I bagged a bat in the bathroom last night

No really. And I'm sure I completely did all the wrong things, but it was about midnight and I didn't know who I could call for assistance, so Claudette and I just did our best.

I was minding my own business, reading a book, when Claudette trotted down the hall ... and I noticed something that definitely had wings shot into the bathroom just ahead of her.

Huh. Guess I couldn't really ignore that. So I hobbled to the bathroom and discovered the teeny-tiny bat (wingspan of maybe 12 inches?) was fluttering about in the shower. Claudette was RIGHT there. Just very very curious. Kind of like ... "Look what I found! Can I keep it?"

Oh geez, I thought. Bats can carry rabies, right? So I hauled Claudette out and threw her in the bedroom and shut the door. Then I went to the supply closet in the kitchen to see what sort of container I could find to capture our little friend. (It actually was kind of cute. Like a little mouse until it spread its wings.)

Paper bag. That'll work. I snagged a paper grocery sack from the shelf and headed back to the bathroom. Then went back and grabbed the broom.

It took about 15 minutes of careful coaxing and scooping attempts. I used the broom to sort of guide the little guy toward the bag since he was at the far end of the shower. I'm not quite sure how I finally did it, but I managed to scoop it up gently in the bag, then folded over the top and transported the package outside, where I carefully dumped the now-completely freaked-out bat out in the driveway. "Oh please don't die here," I thought. I really don't want to see dead bat on the driveway in the morning. But after about 5 seconds, it flew away.

Back inside, I cleaned out the shower (no poo, just bat germs), washed my hands and started researching. Claudette went off to find something else to play with since I'd spoiled all her fun.

Well, I learned that I should have probably kept the bat and called Animal Control. Oops. (So they could test it for rabies.) And now I'm thinking there's a good possibility there are more up in the attic. Oh joy. So I'll need to call a professional. Double joy!

Has anyone out there had to do this? Do you have any advice?