[gvschmokes]

Beasley has a trait that up until this morning, I just wrote off as one of those "cute puppy things" that she does. To summarize it, Beasley is always walking on the edge of everything. When we are walking on the sidewalk, she is always walking right along the edge. When we walk through the parking lot in our complex, she will always jump on the concrete blocks and walk along those. And when we walk down by the lake, she will always walk right next to the water (there is about a 12 inch drop-off going into the water).

This morning as usual, we were walking down by the lake (our apartment complex has a number of lakes) Beasley of course right on the edge, when she stopped to take care of a little business. I looked up over the lake just in time to see two eyes pop up out of the water and stare right at Beasley...Those of you living in Florida know exactly what I am talking about.

I grabbed Beasley and took a few steps back as we both watched a 4 foot gator swim toward us. 4 feet isn't too large of a gator, but it is still a very dangerous situation for a small puppy, or any dog for that matter. We are aware of a number of Gators that are living in the lakes around here, but there really haven't been too many reports of attacks inside the complex...i didn't want Beasley to be the first.

From here on out I'm keeping Beasley on a much shorter leash around the water.

 

[Ashley Hellen]

I have one that walks on walls too.- Caleb But we dont get gators over here in the UK LOL!!!

 

[kgh]

OMG!!! :eyes: I am afraid I would have my 3 on the shortest leash possible. Their front feet probably would not even touch the ground. What do you do when the daylight savings changes and it is dark early?

 

[Murphys Dad]

Oh My God - great instincts...!!! I think I would just freeze!!!

 

[Murphys Dad]

Life in Florida! I worry about gators here at my apartment complex as well. Like you, we have a lot of ponds around. There is one big one right behind my building but I've never seen a gator there. I do worry about the one to the side of the building though. I don't let Jersey get too close to the edge of that one. I've seen otters in there, never a gator, but I'm not taking any chances.

 

[Hooper's Mom]

Wow. Thank god this stry isnt a sad story with a tragic ending, Im gator free in the North East, and like it that way !They scare me. Im heppy noone wss hurt ! :eyes:

 

[madison069]

Here in west texas it is rattle snakes that we have to worry about.

I plan on training my puppy to stay away from snakes.

I know it is cruel but it is for it's own safety,

but this is the training process i am going to put it trough when it is old enough,

http://www.beaglesunlimited.com/beagletraining_snakeavoidance.htm

I am calling the puppy it cause i don't know if i will get a male or female.

 

[conniew]

oh my goodness! I can't imagine--the worst thing you have to worry about here in Iowa is getting sprayed by a skunk. :doh:

 

[Zookeeper]

Ack! How scary! I can't even imagine. About the worst thing our dogs have to contend with is our neighborhood squirrel family trying to take their food. Gators would send me into spasms!

 

[Genie]

Dean, I'm still shakin', just thinking about that gator setting his sights on your little Beasley!! That must have been so scary!! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif
My Shiloh likes to walk on walls, too. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif We have a cement block retaining wall separating our yard from the driveway, and she used to love to walk on that. Unfortunately, it's not as sturdy as it should be, and the top blocks wobble now when she walks on it, so she doesn't really enjoy it anymore. But other walls, that will hold her weight, :eyes: she loves to walk on them.

 

[Murphys Dad]

To make matters worse, the gators don't stay in the ponds all day! In our community, we all have hedges in front of our houses. I was out with Maggie one afternoon when a gator poked his head out from my next door neighbor's hedge!!! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif Maggie doesn't run much but I sure hustled her back home that day. We have a small retention pond at the end of my street so I expect that the gator lives in there. I try not to think about them during our walks when it is dark out ...

 

[gvschmokes]

Much like any other animals, Gators will leave you alone as long as you leave them alone. And if you can get over your inital "scared" reaction, they are really beautiful animals.

From now on I'm taking a camera on our morning walks in case we have anymore wildlife encounters.

"No gators in the lake this morning"

"No gators in these bushes"

 

[madison069]

that goes for rattlesnakes, the only reason they strike people is the person got in the snake's space.

I would catch rattlesnake often, as they make good eating. Also i use to make rattlesnake belts and wallets and buckles. Plus i admire the reptiles, they are beautiful creatures and smart too.

But i will still teach my dog to stay away from snakes as no dogs are safe from snakes.

 

[aaroninphilly]

She is adorable! I used to live in Florida and I am all too familiar with the gators. I remember 1 actually lived on our complex. It had to be removed because it grew WELL over 8 ft and people were feeding it all the time. :doh: Good thing you spotted the gator!

 

[BeagleBabe]

Exactly! Just another one of the "perks" of living in FL. I don't miss it :lol2:

Quote:Originally posted by jen-n-jersey:
Life in Florida!

 

[Gingergoose]

The Dean,

It is so refreshing to read of a wildlife encounter in a residential area where the person involved in the encounter didn't act like the sky was falling!

My subdivision is built on the side of a mountain which is heavily (but not enough) forested. Any person with any sense knows that where there is forest, there is wildlife.

I awoke to several group emails this morning that were in response to a couple of recent bear sightings in the neighborhood.

Now some of the neighbors, including the people on each side of me, are running around, arms flailing, yelling for animal control to come out and "do something" about the bear! This infuriates me.

How can any of these people who purchased these homes have such a surprised, knee-jerk reaction when those trees and forest were there when they first bought their home?

I consider them idiots. :angryfire:

Thanks, The Dean, for reminding me that not everybody wants to automatically eradicate every wild animal that crosses their wooded path.

Yesterday, Henry rolled in deer poop (again). Perhaps I should call animal control to trap them and release them so my dog doesn't roll in poop again!

Sorry, not beagle-related but I feel better for the chance to soap-box. :soapbox:

~Denise

 

[gvschmokes]

You're 100% right Denise...In most of these cases, it is the Human's who have moved in on the animal's territory, not the other way around....I kind of have a "live and let live" attitude with a lot of wildlife. The Gators (or the bears in your case) aren't out to get us, so why get all up in arms when they follow their instincts? If you are conscious of your suroundings, and take the proper precautions, everyone can live in harmony.

 

[RhodaTse]

Charlie is not that adventurous, he is timid. Some how I think he does not make a good hunter. It took him a long while to really chase after the mouse. In the beginning, he would just stared and whine, quite a fantasy for him. Even now he would walk around the street gutter not looking down at it.
Gators :holyshit: I have heard a lot about them in Florida, since I have never been to Florida. Are there many incident of Man eating kind of thingy?

 

[LuckyBeagle]

Wow! Gators...scary. You have a brave beagle. Lucky is a scaredy cat. We do not have gators to worry about here in SC though. We don't have much to worry about. Lucky did skin a snake one time! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif I don't know if he killed or it was already dead but he skinned it! ukey:

 

[Jennifer]

Yep I have two wall walkers. Sherry likes to jump right over them without a care in the world. I have to be careful because who knows how far the drop is the other side /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif

I have a concrete path (very narrow) that goes all the way round my lawn and Rosa walks round and round on it as though she's scared to let her feet touch the grass