 Be wary of Hawks!
I saw that you mentioned there are hawks in your area. We have several types here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. There was a very sad incident in Waynesboro, Va,a 30 minute drive from our area, about 6 years ago. The story was in the local paper and had owners of small pets very concerned. A lady
had put her small poodle in the family's fenced-in back yard for a bit of free play. She came to the door to bring her poodle inside when a "big hawk" swooped down and grabbed her poor dog. She ran out, screaming, the poodle was struggling and yelping, and the hawk was trying to carry the dog upward. Somehow, the poodle got loose, but died from the fall. The reporter questioned a local ranger from the nearby National Park, and the ranger said it was very probably a large Red Tail Hawk as they are common here. To the big hawk, the little poodle would have been an easy size to attack. If you have large hawk species in your area and if you buy a small dog, like a little Yorkie, try not to leave it all alone in your fenced-in area, especially if you have fields nearby. We have a pair of Red Tail Hawks which do circle our pasture for rabbits, etc. I keep our Yorkie on a leash and walk him along our lane, but there are too many wild animals that could make a "snack" out of our little guy if he was loose in the yard. |