He Caught One!

I finally found out this morning what Murphy (my bed dog) has been trying to dig up in the berm in my back yard. At first I thought it was a rabbit; I've seen one (or more) in the yard off and on for years. Or maybe a chipmunk--there are jillions around here. Murphy has dug several deep holes under the trees trying to get what lives in the ground there. This morning he caught a MOLE! He came up out of his latest excavation with this little gray thing in his mouth that he didn't know what to do with. He let it go and it scurried under the leaves and disappeared. Undaunted, Murphy started digging again, but came up empty-mouthed. He didn't try digging where the mole had been the last time--guess his short term memory isn't that good. He went back to the deep old hole and kept digging until he got tired.

Then he wanted to come in, but he was covered with red dirt. I ran a few inches of water in my bathtub to give him a bath and gently lowered him in. When I turned around to get a wash cloth he sprang out, heading through the house leaving muddy paw prints wherever he went. After I tracked him down (which was rather easy, given the amount of dirt on his feet) and got him back in the tub he stood quietly until I got most of the dirt off. Now I'll spend the next few hours/days/weeks cleaning the mud off the carpet instead of him.

As for the mole--I hope he got the message and moved to another area. There are several holes in the berm facing the end of the driveway outside the fence. I thought they might be snake holes, but I guess they are entrances to the mole tunnels that probably go all through the berm.

Now that Murphy has caught a varmit, his quest for another will probably be resumed. Fishermen don't quit fishing because they catch something. (That's why they call it "fishing" not "catching".) I'll have to deal with more holes and muddy paws. But true to his terrier heritage, Murphy will keep digging. Good luck, fella!