The one big thing I worry about when the Bassets "capture" something is that it may be something that one of the neighbors poisoned. A lot of our neighbors use poisons.I don't know if they put out mole and etc repellents that are edible or not, but sure don't want to find out the hard way that some mouse ate warfarin or some mole has eaten "mole-kill" pellets and was already on it's way out when the dogs caught it.<br>
I don't intend this as an indictment against neighbors-- people do things all the time without thinking of the ecoconsequences. Poisoning a mouse means the owl that eats it is going to ingest some of the same, and/ or the dog or cat down the street: people add anti-freeze and dribble it on the driveway and never think that a kitty walking through it and then cleaning his feet is as good as dead.<br>
Nevermind the birds with West Nile or the mouse with fleas= tapeworms...the world is fraught with peril for those lower on the food chain (and sometimes, those of us at the top).<br><br>MomPerson to a bunch who eat whatever they can before I catch them.<br>