Speaking RODENT problems.......

[Miniv]

Our area has a HUGE population of a very large rodent commonly called a "Rock Chuck". It's actually a type of marmot. They are the size of a 20 lb cat.

This morning all four of our dogs cornered one in one of our rock walls. There was a log of barking and digging at the rocks. As we were finishing up doing our morning feeding rounds, the dogs actually CAUGHT the thing! There were four dogs all having a hold of the thing and pulling it in four different directions!

My husband approached them all with a shovel and they released the thing..........It was barely alive, which bothered me. Larry picked it with his shovel and I ran and got a paper shopping bag.........

It is now in the bag and in our big spare freezer............Why????? Because we are members of the local Nature Center and Observatory. This may sound gross but at least in the freezer he will die humanely by going to sleep and in a couple of days Larry will take his frozen body down to the Nature Center where the critter will provide food to the Eagles they are rehabilitating into the wild.

We have done this before with the ground squirrels we have here, but never with such a big animal........and never with one who was technically still alive!

 

[Jill]

Oh! It is good to know you can do this to bring a humane end. I had never heard of a Rock Chuck. Until the other rodent thread, I never realized Gophers were different than Ground Hogs (I now think Winston's "Giant Mole" was actually a gopher).

 

[TripleDstables]

I'm not trying to be rude, in any way. At all, please don't take it that way. But how is freezing humane? He was already injured from the dogs, and then he had to freeze to death? That doesn't sound pleasant to me...

I'm confused, I've never heard of this being done before.

 

[Miniv]

It's called Hypothermia..........I've experienced it personally. If I had to choose a way to die, I'd either die in my sleep or die via Hypothermia.

Your body's normal temperature lowers and you just go to sleep..........that's it.

 

[TripleDstables]

Oh, I never heard of that. Thats really neat!

 

[ChrystalPaths]

I have done the same thing here MA when necessary if there is a place that needs the meat. IT is a good way to give back the life thru the eagles.

 

[Minimor]

I'm not a wounded animal, but...living through winters in this part of the country I know just how cold a body can get without actually going into (or before going into)sleep caused by hypothermia and it is not pleasant or happy to be that cold!

If my dogs get onto something that way, I call them off and they are well enough trained to listen & come off on command--they are not allowed to stay and agitate something until they finally manage to get hold of it and maul it...no matter what it is.

I'm actually not sure which would kill the animal first--the cold, or lack of oxygen in the freezer.