terrier \ literally earth dog,

Terrier \ literally earth dog. From Latin terra. Small dogs originally used by hunters to dig for small furred game and engage the quarry underground or drive it out.

I have three of them. Jake, my Westie, prefers letting the others get dirty. He's more of a lover than a fighter. Annabelle, my Scottie, is more inclined to KILL her squeaky toys. However, Sydney, my Schnauzer (originally bred to hunt and kill rats), is a true terrier. She is a digger.

When we first moved into our house, we noticed long skinny bulges in our yard. Absently, I assumed they were surface roots from the many trees. Even when we began our extensive landscaping, we would pull up long surface roots and continue. Then I began to notice these long skinny bulges in circles and no where near trees. And...I might add, all the grass along those long skinny bulges was dead. I suspected a mole.

Turns out, I was correct. I stamped down those bulgy trails and cursed the rodents. I encouraged them to move out of my yard into my neighbors yard. Of course, my neighbor adamantly protested. My other neighbor allowed my to borrow the Killer Mole Trap. Basically it works similar to a mouse trap, but instead of a snapping wire, it has six vicious looking spikes. The trap is set along the mole trail and when the mole digs under it, SNAP, the spikes sink into the ground and impale the little beasties.

A few days with nothing, then yesterday I noticed the spikes were down. Part of my was happy and part of my was sad. I didn't want to kill it, but I didn't want it tearing up my yard. I really didn't want to poison it for fear that my pups would be poisoned or eat one that had been poisoned. Anyway, I decided to check to see if I indeed had a dead mole.

When I pulled up the trap, a big chunk of dirt/clay came up revealing the hole. No mole, but definitely mole smell. Suddenly, I had a helper. Sydney was....let's say...very curious. Okay, she was really SUPER EXCITED!! Into the hole she went. There was no stopping her. Naturally, since I spoil her rotten I just encouraged the assault. In a high squeaky voice I told her to "Get it!" and to "Kill it!"

Lots and lots of digging. Eventually, her head disappeared. Her bum was up in the air and a little tiny tail was wiggling like it had been turn onto vibrate. She was having the big time Super Fun Time. All her effort was to no avail. No mole.

When it was all said and done, I had a worn out, filthy dog and a big hole in my yard. So much for a long skinny bulge. It's more like a giant pot hole.