Nature, Red In Tooth And Claw

Jake is a Rat Terrier. That means his ancestors were bred primarily for hunting so-called "vermin": rats, foxes, and other small mammals that are often considered pests. He can stalk very well, has good hearing and smell, and can dig into burrows almost like a badger. The selective breeding his ancestors were subjected to over many generations is embedded in Jake, they are inseparable. And while these tendencies are dormant most of the time, occasionally they come out and remind us that he is, after all, descended from a wild animal.

Jake's inner nature reared it's head yesterday. Soon after I let the dogs out after work I heard a major "event" taking place in the yard, complete with yipping, growling, flying dirt and grass, and barking. Jake had caught a squirrel and was mauling it very badly. Coco was in the fray too, and they were really going at it. I got them to back off but the squirrel was bleeding and not moving much. It was quite an event in our otherwise maul-free yard. The squirrel eventually hobbled out of the yard under the fence, but I'm sure it didn't live long.

So life goes on. We always knew it was in him, but still I think I see a glimmer in Jake's eyes that I never noticed before.