I know what you should get to keep them away- we call it a PEEK! There isn't anything alive that can escape her claws whether it be a tunneling rodent or a harmless dove or even a useful bat, I still have no idea how she caught that one and it only took 10 minutes! One minute she was sitting on the porch waiting to come in the next she was trotting up the sidewalk showing and telling me what she caught( she even had a collar on with a bell!) She is what we call a "death trap" the only side effect is she kills Golden finches too, so not cool! You can have her ;p !!

very cute, thanks for that; the last picture is a dog that was rescued from Vicks, nice to see he's fine. Here is a link that might be useful: watch and smile

Just listened to a piece on NPR this morning in which it was mentioned that there are still shelters that sell dogs and cats to research facilities. The practice is called pound seizure. They only keep the strays for the requisite 5 days, so if you don't get there in time, you are out of luck. I think they said only 17 states outlaw the practice. Maybe we should all check with our local shelters and ask if they do this. One person on the show said she got such an evasive answer that she knew her shelter followed that practice. Depending on what you find out, you could also organize to have the laws in your state changed. I will link a website I found and here is what it said about Virginia laws. The first part worried me, but the second part appears to ban pound seizure. "� 3.2-6547. Acceptance of animals for research or experimentation; prohibition No person shall use or accept for the purpose of medical research or experimentation any animal bearing a tag, license, or tattooed identification, unless the individual who owns such animal consents thereto in writing. � 3.2-6557. Animal control officers and humane investigators; limitations; records; penalties A. No animal control officer, humane investigator, humane society or custodian of any pound or animal shelter shall: (i) obtain the release or transfer of an animal by the animal's owner to such animal control officer, humane investigator, humane society or custodian for personal gain; or (ii) give or sell or negotiate for the gift or sale to any individual, pet shop, dealer, or research facility of any animal that may come into his custody in the course of carrying out his official assignments. No animal control officer, humane investigator or custodian of any pound or animal shelter shall be granted a dealer's license. Violation of this subsection is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Nothing in this section shall preclude any animal control officer or humane investigator from lawfully impounding any animal pursuant to � 3.2-6569. " Here is a link that might be useful: pound seizure by state

I don't have as much trouble with wild animals as I do with neighborhood dogs. They seem to like to use my garden for a playground and my plants suffer. Now I like dogs as long as they are properly cared for and behave but when they mess with my garden that I have put in several hours of work and several dollars I draw the line. If the owners won't do something about it, I will.