My First Trapping Adventure or How I got My First Dog

I had started writing about my first trapping adventure at the old Blanco Monastery, but as I thought about it, I remembered that the first trapping project (except for the occasional mouse, which I would trap at work then release out in the country) I undertook actually involved puppies not cats. The year was 1986, the place Texas Renaissance Festival (TRF), the situation, someone had abandoned a dog at the end of faire and she went and had puppies under the King's Feast, a wooden pavilion. King George the owner of TRF had either shot or had ordered shot the mama dog, the pups had been left to fend for themselves, until they could also be shot. My boyfriend, who was later to become my husband, worked as horticulturalist for King George, he was also a dog lover, and he got permission from George allowing me to try and catch and rescue the pups. I am guessing they were about 6 weeks old and trying to survive by eating junebugs. It was spring in Texas when I approached the group of pups playing in a clearing. They had not had any interaction with humans, so they were not afraid of me. I was able to grab 2 of them, one in each hand. Not real smart, but then what did I know. One of them bit me, so I let go and only was able to hang on to one of them. Now, the pups where leery of me so the next time I approached them they would not let me touch them. I seem to remember using a net or throwing a blanket over one of them. They were smart little dogs and would watch each trick. Each time I had to think of some new way to catch them. Then I used a box propped up with a stick with a string attached. I don't remember how I caught them all, but I do vividly remember the Granddaddy of an opossum that I caught one night in the havahart trap. Boy was he big, big teeth, big tail, big balls and boy was he not happy! I also remember the second to last pup, he was a little black boy, short hair, with a bit of white on his chest. Not a pretty pup, but cute in a homely sort of way. As I caught each of the pups we would take them home clean them up and then ask everyone we ran into if they needed a dog. In this way we where able to save all of them. It took me days to catch the last puppy, even though she was starving she would not go into the trap for food. Finally it was loneliness that got to her. I ended up using her brother as bait by tying him up in the trap. That last little dog was so smart that she actually tried to chew though the knot that was holding her brother captive, only when she was unable to do that did she get into the trap with him. Caught her! What a smart doggie! Needless to say after I had put so much time and effort into trapping her she became my dog. I named her Buttons, cause in my eyes she was cute as a button, and boy was she smart. She would respond to whistle commands, she always retained her shyness and wariness of people, but she loved and trusted me and I her. When the children came along, at first she was scared of them, but soon found out that they where harmless, and then accepted them into her pack. She was a beagle mix and even though she accepted domestication she always remained a dogs, dog, bringing home bones and perfuming herself by rolling on dead things. What a good watch dog, she would hide from view and keep watch, sounding the alarm when an intruder approached. I remember one of her favorite hiding places was in the garden under the leaves of a squash bush. She was my first dog, she lived with me for about 15 years, before she disappeared one day. That is the story of my first trapping experience and how I got my first dog.

Thank you for reading it.

 

Ugliest cat I ever trapped

 

But, kinda cute for a dog.