Ewwwwww!!!

[Melissa S.]

OK maybe I am just a big baby but the GROSSEST thing happened to me yesterday. I got home from work and the first thing I always do is go out to see the girls-they are in the backyard. Well I look down next to the deck is a BIG lump of fur with a long black tail coming out the back of it. SOOOO I scream, bring the girls inside and call my husband who just laughs and tells me to find a neighbor to come check it out (he was at work still). I am thinking opossum b/c it is so big-probably about the size of a large mens shoe-without the tail. So I finally find someone to come over with a shovel and it is a HUGE RAT!!!!!! It was dead but no blood or anything so I am guessing the girls 'played with it' to death. I checked them all over for bites and called the vet. Has anyone else had this happen???? I don't live in the country but I do have a creek and woods behind my house. I am still shuttering at the thought of that thing being back there with my girls!

 

[Doberluv]

LOL! You're funny. Before I moved to where I live now 3-1/2 years ago, I had horses and a barn for them. There were often rats hanging out. I might be cleaning stalls or brushing hoses and a big rat would peek around the corner of the stall at me, watching my activities with shining eyes and waiting for me to leave so they could come get some more grain that would spill.They were very healthy looking rats, pretty fat with shining coats and gleaming eyes. LOL. It didn't bother me at all.

 

[becca_4321]

We live on the very edge of town, less than a mile from the river. Have a fenced in yard but still get visits from all kinds of critters. Racoons looking to find a place to have their babies because of the corn fields behind us, possums, snakes, even have seen a rat, but a few years ago my daughters dog (a Rott) was outside and she wouldnt stop barking. I went out to check it out and seen whatever it was it was behind a bush next to the house. The dog let out a yelp, it had been bitten her on the nose! I went running in to get my husband. Turns out it was hugh snapping turtle that somehow made it under the fence! He managed to catch it with a board and put it back over into the field behind us. 2 days later the same events in the back yard, the turtle was back! That time we got smart and after catching it, we took it to the river. So far the only critters I've seen dead in the yard was the rat. Creeps me out though not knowing what will be in our back yard next. We also have alot of coyotes in the area, packs will run thru the field behind us, they are getting brave and actually come into town. I dont know if they can get into the yard or not but I never take any chances.

 

[Doberluv]

A turtle! OMG! How funny. Well.....not for the dog. Well, it could be dangerous with rats if they have rabies or something.

I live in an extreme wilderness area in the north panhandle of Idaho...in a resort area. We have black bears, grizzly bears....you name it. My little Jose (Chi mix) ran a young black bear off my property last year. That bear didn't stand a chance. LOL. (or so he must have thought) I freaked when I saw this and yelled at Jose to come, just what I preach not to do. LOL. But it worked. He must have understood the urgency in my voice. But he didn't come immediately. He had to finish the job first. A-h-h-h.......YIKES!

 

[becca_4321]

I'd take the turtle any day over a grizzly, but to be honest, rats are pretty darn scarey looking, dead or alive! We dont have to worry about bears here, just every other critter that happens along.

 

[Doberluv]

A-h-h...it wasn't a Grizzly though that Jose ran off. It was only a little black bear. LOL. Thank God. Talk about Mastiff in a small dog's body. LOL

 

[Renee750il]

Melissa, I'm still giggling. That's a Pit Bull Terrier you've got - you know, the breeds that are renowned for getting rid of varmints? Don't worry as long as they're up on their rabies vaccine.

Rats are one of the most successful species on the planet because they can adapt to just about any environment and are particularly good at living near mankind. They're also very intelligent and learn to stay away from places that are dangerous to them - like backyards with Pits.

I'll bet your two were sooooo proud! They probably thought you were nuts and just didn't know how to have fun.

Becca, you do need to be afraid of the coyotes. They are losing their fear of man and will come in after domestic pets, especially during times when wild game is scarce or hard to catch. Even a dog as big as a Rottie has to be watched out for and not left outside alone after dark; coyotes will pack up on a larger dog. That's one of the reasons Charley wanted the Filas. Bred to hunt jaguar and wild boar, they will also pack up and become more dangerous to the coyotes than the coyotes are to them. Keeps the coyotes from coming through our pasture most of the time.

 

[Cidney]

Bears, coyotes, snapping turtles!!! Oh my gosh, thankfully we only have squirrles and nutria's.

A Yorkie I had 5 years ago actually caught and killed a squirrle. I think the squirrle was running from Chip and when the squirrle ran up the fence he somehow fell back to the ground. I cant imagine Chip being fast enough to just catch him while running. Anway, Chip was shaking the squirrle, his natural instincts kicked in and I was yelling for Chip to drop and release the squirrle. Chip released the poor thing and the squirrle was still alive and very pissed off. I noticed Chip had blood coming from his nose area so I rushed him to the vet because I had no idea if the squirrle had rabbies or whatever.

While I am in the waiting room at the vet, the doctor stuck his head in the door, looked and left without saying a word. The doctor did this again a few seconds later, the exact same thing. The third time the doctor came in and said " I am looking for the dog that attacked a squirrle" I told him he was in the right room, this little Yorkie is the dog that actually caught the squirrle" The doctor shook his head, laughed and said he was expecting to find a big dog like a Lab or something like that.


Chip loved to chase the squirrles but we never thought he would ever catch one. Oh, Chip was bitten by the squirrle, was given an antibotic for possible infection. The squirrle ended up dieing the next day and we bagged the squirrle and froze him for a couple of months just in case Chip did get sick but everything was fine.

 

[greentiger]

Hee. When I lived in Hawaii we would get rats in the garage of our landlords place. Unknown to me it was our job to dispose of the critters. My landlady simply said the gardner used to trap them then drown them in the trash bin. I stood there calmly (trying not to scream) simply said "well there it is" John Cleese. Ran to the phone told my vegitarian husband I could not do it, and it was our duty (sniff cry cry). He said nothing. By the time he came home and I had come up with a brilliant plan to transport the critters in said death cage, in the car to another neighborhood. So we caught this cute little Hawaiian rat, nothing like you see in NY. took him to the swanker neighborhs yards (2 miles away) sang born free and that was the end of that. To this day the landlady never knew what we did with all the rats.
Ciao
greentiger

 

[Renee750il]

Cidney, even the smallest dog has some predator running in its genes!

Greentiger, I love that story. My parents found a 'possum in their bedroom once and I convinced them to just trap it and take it off and turn it loose. They wanted me to bring Bear over to catch it and kill it . . . but I yell at my Mom for killing snakes . . .

 

[PawsRanch6]

I have a cattle dog that sits over gopher holes and listens then sticks her head down and comes up with one...screeching...she kills it then on to the next hole! lol she cracks me up! my mom has a dalmation that is a better mouser then a cat! We too live in the country and find all sorts of interesting critters!

 

[becca_4321]

Renee, I'm curious. How likely do you think it could be for coyotes to go over or under a chainlinked fence? My husband at times tells me I shouldnt worry but after all the years of finding critters in the yard I just dont trust any them to stay on their side of the fence! In the last several years have seen the coyotes in town only 5 or 6 blocks from main street so we know for a fact they are getting braver.
I am always getting yelled at by my kids because I hate snakes, mice/rats, spiders....and my thought is they can live happly anywhere else in the world but at my house! You'd never know I was raised on a farm.

 

[Renee750il]

A chain link fence isn't going to stop hungry coyotes. No pets or small children out unsupervised at night - ever! Having a well lit yard helps too. Not only are they getting braver, but you'll probably notice they aren't the smaller creatures they normally are. They're getting larger, partly because they are adapting to living with us and aren't having to scrounge as desperately and they are also cross breeding with dogs on occasion.

Just one more worry if you have an unneutered male - or female for that matter. A male might catch the scent of the coyote female and take off after it, probably getting savaged in the process, and your female might end up being bred by a clever coyote.

 

[Melissa S.]

well gee...I sure am glad to hear everyone's stories. I needed that reality check that this happens to a lot of people. Renee...My husband said the same exact thing about Rosie. He said "HELOO Melissa....have you absorbed anything at all about her breed? and even more so about the TERRRIER qualities? she was probably soooo proud of herself and you just went and ruined it!" She looooves to shake her stuffed animal toys and I am SURE the rat stood no chance in that powerful neck shake! I appreciate everyone's responses. I am glad I am NOT dealing with Coyotes!

 

[avenlee]

It was dead but no blood or anything so I am guessing the girls 'played with it' to death. :

ROFL with this statement. I caught my Westie playing with a field mouse in the middle of our driveway once. Just pawing it around. I quickly distracted Nora and the poor mouse scampered away. Sadie's been caught playing with field mice and moles at times also. The both of them are like the three stooges, minus the one. LOL They will play with critters. Its like the blind leading the blind. The only one time we had a large animal in our backyard was a possum and that was a few years ago, when our Lhasa was alive. Oh yeah, and one year we had a family of three wild turkeys that would show up at the same time of day every day for about a month just making their way through everyone's bird feeders.

 

[bogolove]

Brady's friend Jenny's owners have two outdoor cats, and they love us so much too that sometimes I get a present of a nice mouse or so on my doorstep. I know it is Mr. Pants leaving them, but he likes Brady so much so I don't know if it is for Brady or for me. That cat likes my dog more than my own cat does. Mr. Pants actually thinks he is a dog!

 

[greentiger]

Cidney, got another one for. My uncle loves snakes so much to the point that he will not drive the two hours it takes to get to my mom's place to see her. But when she told that she had to remove a large tree and as she inspected it she noticed a very large black snake living in the trunk of the tree. My uncles drives through nightmare rushhour traffic (three hours in the case) jumps from his truck as he parks in the driveway. Comanders my assistance and rangles not one but two very large black snakes. They were pretty calm. He bagged them up so that he could set them free elsewhere. He has all sorts of knowledge about these things so am sure they found a fun place to catch rats and other such stuff. just hope they are not near your mom. Hee hee.
greentiger

 

[bogolove]

Funny how I saw this post yesterday and then last night Brady went to Jenny's and their cat brought a mouse to the back door while we were there and Brady and Jenny had themselves quite a time with it.

 

[Renee750il]

My bunch were playing keep away with a barn rat they'd killed. Ugh!

 

[EliNHunter]

I had a family of opossums living under my deck for at least two years. It was gross. Every night when I'd come home from work, I'd have to deal with the carnage. Some nights, it would be an adult. Laying there on his/her side with the eyes still staring. I would never know if they were really dead or playing dead. They're gross. But what was bad were the babies... they're actually pretty cute. And I'd come home to a couple at a time... dead in the backyard. The dogs were pretty high on it...