I have mentioned here before that our canine companions are pretty capable at pest management on the property. They catch an array of critters, both undersireable and benign - I wish they’d leave the possums alone, for example, but I wish they’d do a better job managing the rabbits. They even manage to catch moles from time to time, which is a little surprising but, as someone who does not delight in the pleasure of a turned ankle, a good thing.

It is possible to take a good thing too far, however.

Generally speaking, when I say that they manage critters, what I mean is that said critters sort of show up dead (or playing dead, in the case of the aforementioned possums), either near the back door or actually in a dog’s mouth. Usually we don’t have the opportunity to see the actual critter catching. And in the case of the moles, I’ve always just pictured Rosie or Calamity patiently waiting outside the mole hole for the subterranean interloper to peek his little gray head out and then BAM! No more mole.

Well, that’s what I’ve pictured until very recently.

Rosie has apparently decided that the one-at-a-time mole removal strategy is just too inefficient. She also seems to have forgotten that she is an Australian Shepherd, and is operating under the delusion that she is now some sort of unusually large, very fast terrier.

Rosie and her handiwork. Or would that be pawdiwork?

The clever and/or attentive among you might be saying to yourselves: They’ve got a couple of dogs. How does he know it’s Rosie?

And that’s a fine, appropriate, well considered question. You are very smart.

This is how:

Rosie neck deep

And what does one do when one discovers such an excavation? I think one of the natural reactions might be to utter a few well selected four letter words at an elevated volume. I’m not beyond that, and I wouldn't swear that it absolutely hasn’t happened, but for the most part I’ve had the luxury to be rather circumspect about these events. I do not maintain my yard as an example of modern botanical manicuring, so Rosie isn’t disturbing a treasured flowerbed, for example. What’s more, I’m loathe to scold her for it.

The thing is, it’s just in these few spots - it’s not all over the yard. And I’ve watched her begin the process. It’s not random. Her ears perk up and she looks straight down at the ground, head moving back and forth as if she is following an unseen - yes, tunneling - critter a few inches below the surface. It’s somewhere in this process that she begins tearing at the earth.

And once she gets down to a given depth - about a foot or so - that’s when the snout goes in. I have not actually seen her come up with a mole, mind you (though I think I’d enjoy that), but when you look in the holes, they appear to open on a tunnel. I think she’s on to something.

I’ve filled the holes in multiple times at this point, but apparently they are still felt to be fertile mole-hunting grounds.

And, if she ever manages to fully extract this particular group of burrowers and is looking for more to do, perhaps we can hire her out to an excavation company. Of course, they’ll have to be okay with Rosie choosing the dig site, but otherwise...