Some kind of burrowing animal – moles, voles, groundhogs, etc. – has dug a huge labyrinth of tunnels under the back part of our 1.23 acres over the past three or four years and some of it is in the fenced area ruled by Jack and Dora.
Jack isn’t interested in subterranean intruders, but Dora is obsessed with them.
I watched her yesterday afternoon, standing motionless and staring intently at the ground about 10 feet inside the back fenceline. Then, in an instant, she started digging furiously and poking her head into the excavation.
I hoped to see her pull out one of the varmints, but it eluded her. Then she studied the ground to her left and dashed over there to dig again.
It would be great if she could catch and kill whatever is burrowing out there, but she’s wrecking the yard in the process. It’s become a real challenge to carefully navigate this rutted wasteland with my lawn tractor and I have to be vigilant not to let the mower blades chew into the uneven ground.
One of our neighbors deepened the drainage ditch that runs along the road next to his property and there are three or four sizeable piles of dirt left. I’m thinking about offering to take a few wheelbarrows full to fill in some of Dora’s holes, but I figure she’d just re-dig them.
At least her digging is focused on hunting rather than escape since we strung the electric fence wire. I’m happy to report there have been no escapes or escape attempts in the month since the fence went hot, so I don’t have to feel the need to kennel Dora whenever I leave to run errands.
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