Watch Out Dogs And Humans: Squirrels and Chipmunks Can Carry The Plague!

    Photo of deadly varmint courtesy of Annie Wells/Los Angeles

I've been right all along-these glorified rats are a health risk, and we dogs must take the lead to save the planet! According to an article in today's Los Angeles Times, both chipmunks and squirrels can carry infected fleas and plague, and both people and pets can contract this disease from close contact with these creatures. Hello? The Plague, The Black Death! Aaaach! Although this warning appears to extend only throughout California, we here in Ohio are keeping a close watch on these swishy-tailed killers. I personally keep my backyard free of squirrels (although sometimes it takes me hours each day), and I'm also vigilant during my walks, but can't chase them directly up a tree since I'm constrained by a leash and by Parental Unit on the other end of said leash. 

 We canines must unite against this threat- and quickly! How are you ridding your domain of these potential killers?

Share

Sunday's "Living With Your Pet" Tips: Ten Wild Animals That Can Be Dangerous To Your Pets!

We saw this article in our most recent DogTime media newsletter (originally published on WebVet.com), and knew that it was important to share this information no matter what area of the world our pet-owning friends live in. We also know that WebVet always has several veterinarians review articles before they're published, so we feel comfortable that what they print is thoroughly vetted by experts.

The article describes the top ten animals that will attack pets and what types of damage they might inflict: Coyotes, snakes, cougars, raccoons, SQUIRRELS, yes, SQUIRRELS (I told you they are a blight on civilized society!), scorpions, porcupines (remember our recent photo), skunks, groundhogs and last but certainly not least, rats, round out the list.

Now the biggest danger that many of these creatures pose is passing on diseases, like rabies, to your furry companion, whether you live in an urban area, down a country road or on the edge of the wilderness. In fact, I got Parental Unit up at 4:00 a.m. a few weeks ago to investigate a trio of baby raccoons making their way along our fencepost (we live in the heart of the city), that had triggered our neighbor's motion sensor lights. With hindsight, she probably shouldn't have let me out...and after a few minutes dragged me in by my collar. (She later said that she wanted me to "explore my natural instincts" when I had the opportunity. Hoo boy...)

A pet could also get some nasty bites and scratches requiring medical attention from the likes of raccoons, SQUIRRELS, rats and groundhogs, and be carried away and killed by a cougar or coyote. So the best medicine, as usual, is preventive: Be vigilant at all times when your pet is outdoors, but especially in the woods or in open fields, and check your furry friend for signs of injury after walking through these areas.

But the first order of business is to make our world FREE FROM SQUIRRELS! To demonstrate the world-wide problem SQUIRRELS pose, they're even building statues in their honor across the big pond...in England!

Here are our friends, George the Lad and his sister Tess checking out  that monster! How'd you like to run into this on your weekend stroll?

Share

My New Year's Resolutions

I figured if Parental Unit and all the other humans could say (and even write down) silly things that they know they'll never do, I could do the same!
So here we go with...

Bocci's (First Annual) New Year's Resolutions
1. I will not chase squirrels. This one needs some explanation..I overheard Parental Unit talking with her sister last night, you know, Mugsy's Mom, and she recounted a new year's day story from her local dog park in West Seattle. Here's what happened: When my Aunt Renee and Mugsy arrived, they saw a crowd of humans standing around, staring at the ground under a tree. What were they so intently looking at, you ask? A squirrel with a disabled tail! It seems that this squirrel had somehow gotten its' tail injured and was so disoriented it wasn't moving. (You know, squirrels use their tail to balance and orient themselves, swat away anything that gets too close, etc.) Eventually, a few members of the concerned crowd trapped the squirrel in a box and rushed it off to the 24 hour emergency veterinarian. And if that wasn't enough, other members of the crowd donated money for it's vet care!
Now, what they should have done is left it to me-I'd have taken care of that squirrel...hehehe. Oops, sorry.

Here I am just today trying to keep those varmints (I mean delicate creatures worth saving) outa my yard!
           Can you believe it looks like this on January 2nd?

So no more chasing those sweet little glorified rats beloved by humans (paws crossed).


2. I will loose one pound. That's how much I've put around my middle this last year and it doesn't look pretty. So which crazy diet do you suggest? South Beach, Adtkins, Stillman, Roizen/Oz...?
P.S. Parental Unit's goal is 15 big ones...hehehe, yeah right!

3. I will post on my blog more often. What's that ya say-I'm drivin' you all crazy as it is?

4. I will work harder to promote companion animal adoption and rescue and spay/neuter campaigns. There are still almost 4 million dogs and cats being needlessly euthanized in the U.S. each year! (paws uncrossed!)

5. I will .... Oops, I'm being told to wrap it up. But we'd love to hear your resolutions for 2011!

Share

Prairie Dogs Spared By Judge

According to an article in today's New York Times, a federal district judge in Kansas declared that the federal Endangered Species Act trumps a Kansas state law dating from 1901, that would have allowed county officials to poison the thousands of prairie dogs that live on a private ranch owner's property without his permission.

Now Parental Unit and I think this decision was a good one for a variety of reasons, but...we do understand that this issue is very contentious in certain areas of the country.

We sure did we learn some interesting information, though. Consider the following, if you will:

1. The Prairie Dog is a "highly social member of the squirrel family, known for burrowing elaborate tunnels and emitting a warning call similar to a dog's bark." (Yes, I added the emphasis to those hideous words, "member of the squirrel family")

2. Note to self: So that's why they're called prairie "dogs"!

3. This particular colony of prairie dogs (numbering around 25,000) is a prime sources of food for one of the most endangered mammals in the world, the black-footed ferret.
In fact, in 2007, this same rancher "...allowed the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to release endangered black-footed ferrets on his property as part of a program to increase their population."

Check out the full article (and see a picture of one of those glorified rats prairie dogs), right here:
www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/us/23prairie.html?_r=1&ref=us

Meanwhile, I'm intent on stopping real squirrels from invading my yard and patio, like this bold varmint siting on my fence.

P.S. Look for some really fun news tomorrow!    

Share

Squirrels: The Real Thing... And David Sedaris' New Book

As we all know, with fall comes a proliferation of those glorified rats (what humans call squirrels). They're forever scurrying around my yard and everyone else's with nuts clutched in their paws, and tails all swishy-like they're really doing something important. Let it be known: collecting nuts for the winter is not only NOT an intellectual pursuit, it's certainly not important, O.K.?

Well, now that we've got that out of the way, let me mention a new book by that unbelievably witty writer, David Sedaris. It's called, "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" and it's described as a "collection of animal-themed tales", punctuated with Sedaris' usual blend of sometimes acerbic, but always slide-splitting wit and heart. "Though the characters may not be human, the situations in these stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity of everyday life."
Listen and enjoy an audio clip from the book right here: www.bordersmedia.com/features/audio/squirrelseekschipmunk.asp?cmpid=SL_20100928

P.S. The excerpt from the second story in the clip, titled, "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" gives a hilarious take on dogs from the squirrels viewpoint. See, I've maintained my sense of humor about those vermin...

Enjoy! More on my team's round-up of a "squirrel elimination posse" coming soon...

Share