Voles are not mice, though they are somewhat related. Voles are more closely related to hamsters, which means they are cute. Really cute. They also seem to be a bit slower moving than mice and, at least the ones we saw, were a bit slow realizing they should run away from our dog. The sun was out, it was warm, and the critters wanted to sit in the sun.
One got away. Fortunately for this one, the first of our pups to spot it was Bennie. He sniffed at it and backed up when the little fellow tried to makes itself look big. Bennie, I would guess, probably was wondering if this was one more puppy he needed to care for. The only danger this vole faced was the possibility of getting a thorough washing.
Cricket wasn't having it. She is a hunter and has spent countless hours stalking squirrels. The fact she has never caught one makes no difference to her. The minute she sees a squirrel or chipmunk, she's on high alert.
Despite our efforts to keep her away from them, one tiny vole met its demise. I took it away from Cricket and scolded her. She looked bewildered. I think she was expecting praise. The great hunter had been successful and was trying to decide how best to eat her catch. Though I know there are recipes online for fried vole and vole sauce, I refused to share this information with her. No way was I going to encourage her to eat them.
Most people probably would be thrilled if their dog proved to be an excellent vole hunter and would have encouraged them to develop a gourmet cuisine comprised of voles, mice, and other rodents. My reluctance undoubtedly stems from being a kindergarten teacher for twenty years and telling nature stories to the children. The stories were sweet. The mice and squirrels and fairies and elves in the story were cute.
I'm keeping watch on Cricket.
We have voles in our yard. They're cute. Maybe I'll give them names.
