Surprises from whippets

Everyone, including me, likes to talk about how wonderful and affectionate whippets are, but it's good to remember they are also "kill hounds" and to live with one means the occasional...surprise. This came last week from my friend Cheryl in California.
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Subject: Did Big Mo do it again or did Woot take up the sport?

Hi all

Late this morning I was greeted by a wet and dead field mouse right on a pillow placed in my path to the bathroom.

Does this give Big Mo 5 squirrels, 1 scrub blue jay and umpteen + 1 small rodents or does this mean that Woot has learned the family trade, so to speak?

I rather think the latter as Mo has previously brought in only the trophy sized kills - the squirrels and the blue jay. Also it was Woot who ran over and playfully tossed the little bugger's carcass for me after she heard me gasp and ran to see if I had found the prize.

Hear tell that one of them, Loki (Button), has already taken down some gophers.

So......you might consider telling the small creatures that live near you that there is an assassin in their midst. Unless you have gophers of course and then you might as well keep it a secret from them as long as you can.

Big Mo took her first trophy just before age one and went into season the same week.

Just so you know.

Hope you have a pleasant day with no startling discoveries.

Regards

Cheryl

And a followup the next day--

Subject: Now she's gone too far!

Before I tell you how bad Woot has become, I want you to know that I've received emails from the families of all but one of the puppies telling me that their pup is also a hunter. From gophers to squirrels to field mice - nothing seems to be very safe.

Woot has gone too far with this though. She's gone from -0- to 60 in less than a week. There were the two field mice left in the hall for me on consecutive days. A couple of days ago I was about to go to sleep when I saw that she had left one on the sheet! Eeeeekkkk!

And today as I was brushing my teeth, who should trot happily in the back door and down the hall towards me but Woot, with her nice juicy catch in her mouth. I could not help but give a startled noise and a horrified look.

She stopped dead in her tracks, looked at me a moment and then turned around and took her prize back outside.

I think she may have gotten the message.

And I think I must have some field mice in the compost pile or somewhere. Doesn't seem to be just the odd transient mouse.


Still slightly disgusted,

Cheryl