Then came the staff: The stick is the staff which Moses carried, and through which he carried out justice and smote the enemies of Israel. And smote the dog that bit the cat… Moses smote the sinners/the dog through the power of the merit of the Matriarchs and Patriarchs. As we see in the verse, “Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” The sages interpret this to mean: "mountains" refer to the Patriarchs,and "hills" to the matriarchs.