Right On Husky ! Hey you forgot the gators! I hear that there are quite a few in the NYC sewer system. Maybe they will migrate west and find a home in the Erie Canal or the locks in Lockport!

I do have to relate a funny story. My neighbor and I have been discussing this huge skunk that has been living in the area for ages. Well one night last week I started smelling skunk in the house (very unusual). I opened the front door and slammed it quickly as the smell was horendous and it lingered for most of the night. Yesterday the neighbor came by to tell me that her dog had sniffed out the skunk (same night and time frame). She bent over thinking the dog had cornered the bunny in the brush. About that time she saw the black and white tail flip up and she and the dog both got sprayed. She had to go to Topps to get the stuff to dip herself and the dog with the dog in the car because she couldn't take her back inside. She had to go through Topps smelling of skunk. She said she had to throw her clothes away and it took three washings to get the smell out of the dog. The dog also got on her bed before she could dip her and she had to throw all the bedding away. She also had to leave the windows open in the house for the better part of the week to get the smell out of her apartment.

The moral of the story is that if you or your dog decides to investigate something you can't see, don't investigate, run the other way ...quickly.

Penny

ROFLOL, you are tooo funny, though in general I agree with the premise.

I had 4 hunting dogs (labs and lab golden crosses) who kept a several acre critter free zone around the house and gardens (with the cats keeping the rodent population under some semblance of control) . Unfortunately my last dog died a year ago Oct, and the wildlife has started to move in close.

A raccoon attacked one of my kittens the other day (a dispute over a sleeping spot near the front door of the house) so I spent that evening hunting the raccoon. I didn't find the raccoon, but when I went out to the shed where we feed the cats, there was a big skunk eating from the cat feeder. The skunk looked up at me wondering why I was interfering with its meal, as I stood there debating if I should shoot it or not. A cat walked up to the skunk and started eating from the feeder, so I figured as long as we had peaceful coexistence, the skunk could remain. I knew I had a skunk around - the slight smell and every so often it would dig in a potted plant, and lots of places in the grassy areas, but I figured since they eat lots of grubs I could live with it. I have seen a possum drinking out of the water bucket at the hydrant behind the house. I have a lots of land and all the critters, and insects are welcome to make full use of that land, but I don't really want them around the house and gardens. The raccoons are the most problematical since they are most prone to violence, and cause coon hound disease, in addition to the rabies flare ups, so I tend to shoot them when I see them.

So I guess it is time to replenish my dog supply.... I can sympathize with the folks being overrun by critters due no natural controls in place, but then they should be willing to put up with the predators who control those populations (I don't allow coyote hunting on my land, protect my sheep with electric fence).

I was hoping to hold off getting dogs for a few years so we could do a little traveling, but I guess the wild critters are not going to allow it.

-Rosalinda

Husky,
LOL! : )
Remy

Saw the funniest thing today, our town grounds are overrun with geese lately, leaving for lunch and going up the exit hill and this darn brave cat darted across the road to chase the geese...the geese scattered but i wondered what would have happened if the geese would taken him on like they do humans sometimes or if he actually would have been able to catch one, woulda been one big meal for that cat.

Oh geez, I shoulda put this on the mountain lion post lol.

Maybe I need to learn to stalk the geese like a cat to keep them from chasing after me LOL!