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[Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>]

Back 5 years or so ago, while my wife was still working as a practicing 
veterinarian, some low-life dumped a queen and box of kittens on the clinic 
doorstep. Voila!  We ended up with three more cats - two whites and a gray 
tabby.  She and the kids had every intention of making them housecats, but 
(thankfully, for me) one or more of them refused to use the litter box - 
preferring instead to urinate on my eldest daughter's bed or any piece of 
clothing the kids left lying on the floor - so, out they went - spayed and 
declawed on the front.
All are fat as hogs, but hunt continuously.  Unfortunately, I rarely see 
them in the orchard  - they prefer to eat bluebirds/songbirds in the yard 
or catch frogs from around the farmpond, which is located about 100 ft from 
the house.
Every morning from May to October, it's not unusual to step out the front 
door and find a couple of Leopard frogs lying on the welcome mat, sans rear 
legs, looking up with a 'Help Me!' look, kinda like Vincent Price in the 
original "The Fly".  I usually pick 'em up, walk over to the pond, and 
pitch 'em in to the catfish.  I don't have any frog-size wheelchairs.

When it comes to catching and dispatching voles, my son's mixed breed dog - 
she's the 'default' dog, kinda like those you see prowling the streets of 
Delhi or around garbage dumps in any third-world country in the National 
Geographic specials - is tops, around our place.  She's constantly digging 
for them in the orchard & nut grove.  I praise her for each catch, but 
there are some pretty bad holes out there anymore - I have to watch my step 
or I'll break an ankle.

Lucky Pittman
USDA Cold Zone 6
AHS Heat Zone 7
Hopkinsville, KY