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The carnage in my backyard: Finally explained

unlost dogsunlost dogs Greater Boston Posts: 12,553
edited March 2012 in All Encompassing Trip
So we have a little pond in our little yard, installed on a whim some 13 years ago.

Started out with two tiny shubunkin goldfish who were lovingly cared for by Mr. Unlost.

Grew into 12 goldfish who looked like this...

shubunkinjw15oct02.jpg

Just gorgeous, right? They live in the pond all year round and basically hibernate and hang suspended at the bottom of the pond when it's really cold. (Mr. Unlost bought them a heater that keeps the pond from completely freezing over.)

Well, we've had an unseasonably warm winter here in on the Massachusetts shoreline, and it seems to have messed with the fish, who started floating closer to the surface.

In the past two weeks, it looked like something had been snooping around the pond.

Then the fish started disappearing, one by one.

And then I started finding pieces of fish strewn about the yard.

It was slow-motion carnage.

Mr. Unlost was away, so I got two of the unlost dogs' x-pens, clipped them together, and put them across the top of the pond to keep the predators out.

Still _ the carnage continued.

This morning there was just one lonely, scared fish.

And then, at lunchtime, Iet the unlost dogs out, looked down and saw the following.

http://s877.photobucket.com/albums/ab33 ... G_1597.mp4
15 years of sharks 06/30/08 (MA), 05/17/10 (Boston), 09/03/11 (Alpine Valley), 09/04/11 (Alpine Valley), 09/30/12 (Missoula), 07/19/13 (Wrigley), 10/15/13 (Worcester), 10/16/13 (Worcester), 10/25/13 (Hartford), 12/4/13 (Vancouver), 12/6/13 (Seattle), 6/26/14 (Berlin), 6/28/14 (Stockholm), 10/16/14 (Detroit)
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Comments

  • dougfloyddougfloyd Fishers, IN Posts: 2,583
    :o:lol:
    1998 - Noblesville
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  • the wolfthe wolf Posts: 7,027
    caught red.... pawed!

    that sucks about your fish, but don't be too hard on the pups. ;)
    Peace, Love.

    "To question your government is not unpatriotic --
    to not question your government is unpatriotic."
    -- Sen. Chuck Hagel
  • stargirl69stargirl69 Posts: 6,387
    The dog has been eating them? :shock:
    “There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen”
  • afroannnieafroannnie Posts: 12,995
    :lol::lol: looks like you scared the crap out of Sweet Pea!
    Show #13 was a lucky one for me....
  • SPEEDY MCCREADYSPEEDY MCCREADY Posts: 25,875
    Tastes just like chicken
    Take me piece by piece.....
    Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
  • LloydXmasLloydXmas Posts: 7,539
    Great story. Number 67 out of 118 looks like a good one too
  • RKCNDYRKCNDY Posts: 31,013
    it's always the shy skittish one huh?

    does Mr. Unlost know? or are you gonna go to the pet store and replace the missing fish and play dumb?

    (that was kinda funny that the 2 starter fish 'just happened' to be a boy and girl....)
    The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

    - Christopher McCandless
  • youngsteryoungster Boston Posts: 6,576
    Sweet Pea is one sneaky motherfucker!
    He who forgets will be destined to remember.

    9/29/04 Boston, 6/28/08 Mansfield, 8/23/09 Chicago, 5/15/10 Hartford
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  • unlost dogsunlost dogs Greater Boston Posts: 12,553
    I thought she was a Treeing Walker Coonhound.

    Turns out she's actually a Fishing Walker Coonhound.

    Or possibly a Treeing Walker Fishhound.

    I think she watched me enjoy many a sushi dinner, knew the pond was there, and finally put two and two together.

    No punishment for The Pea. She's the one of my three who actually survived on her own in the wild for some time. I'm sure it wasn't her first time fishing for dinner _ but I am quite certain it was her most successful.

    And Mr. Unlost feels bad about his fish, but he's already planning to get two more. And to install secure fencing around the pond. He already put latticework across the top of it. :lol:

    Sweet Pea has him twisted around her little paw...
    15 years of sharks 06/30/08 (MA), 05/17/10 (Boston), 09/03/11 (Alpine Valley), 09/04/11 (Alpine Valley), 09/30/12 (Missoula), 07/19/13 (Wrigley), 10/15/13 (Worcester), 10/16/13 (Worcester), 10/25/13 (Hartford), 12/4/13 (Vancouver), 12/6/13 (Seattle), 6/26/14 (Berlin), 6/28/14 (Stockholm), 10/16/14 (Detroit)
  • conmanconman Posts: 7,493
    at least sweet pea didn't bring the dead fish in the house... my sisters dog kills squirrels and brings them in the house :shock:
  • DS1119DS1119 Posts: 33,497
    unlost dogs wrote:
    So we have a little pond in our little yard, installed on a whim some 13 years ago.

    Started out with two tiny shubunkin goldfish who were lovingly cared for by Mr. Unlost.

    Grew into 12 goldfish who looked like this...

    shubunkinjw15oct02.jpg

    Just gorgeous, right? They live in the pond all year round and basically hibernate and hang suspended at the bottom of the pond when it's really cold. (Mr. Unlost bought them a heater that keeps the pond from completely freezing over.)

    Well, we've had an unseasonably warm winter here in on the Massachusetts shoreline, and it seems to have messed with the fish, who started floating closer to the surface.

    In the past two weeks, it looked like something had been snooping around the pond.

    Then the fish started disappearing, one by one.

    And then I started finding pieces of fish strewn about the yard.

    It was slow-motion carnage.

    Mr. Unlost was away, so I got two of the unlost dogs' x-pens, clipped them together, and put them across the top of the pond to keep the predators out.

    Still _ the carnage continued.

    This morning there was just one lonely, scared fish.

    And then, at lunchtime, Iet the unlost dogs out, looked down and saw the following.

    http://s877.photobucket.com/albums/ab33 ... G_1597.mp4


    :lol::lol::lol:
  • comebackgirlcomebackgirl Posts: 9,885
    That sweet pea is one sneaky pup :lol: Sorry about the fishies :(
    tumblr_mg4nc33pIX1s1mie8o1_400.gif

    "I need your strength for me to be strong...I need your love to feel loved"
  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    a couple thoughts...

    one, it's always exciting to see a new unlost thread and is doubly exciting when the word 'carnage' is included in the title

    b) i'm extremely jealous that unlost is able to keep an eye on the dogs without their knowledge while they're outside...if i had this, i probably wouldn't have had a backyard full of holes


    also, it never fails to make me laugh when dogs back up...it's like watching elaine benes dance
  • RKCNDYRKCNDY Posts: 31,013
    norm wrote:
    also, it never fails to make me laugh when dogs back up...it's like watching elaine benes dance

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY_DF2Af3LM

    :lol::lol::lol:
    The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

    - Christopher McCandless
  • ClaireackClaireack Posts: 13,561
    :lol:

    What a fantastic video!! One guilty looking dog!
    <a href="http://s952.photobucket.com/albums/ae8/catkinson_2009/?action=view&current=domo.jpg&quot; target="_blank"><img src="http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae8/catkinson_2009/domo.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
  • unlost dogsunlost dogs Greater Boston Posts: 12,553
    Claireack wrote:
    :lol:

    What a fantastic video!! One guilty looking dog!

    She's such a ham. She skulked around, narrowed eyes and grinning, with her tail held low and wagging. "I'm so sorry, so so so so sorry." The picture of an over-emoting silent film-era starlet.

    She'll do it again the second she has a chance to.

    :lol:
    15 years of sharks 06/30/08 (MA), 05/17/10 (Boston), 09/03/11 (Alpine Valley), 09/04/11 (Alpine Valley), 09/30/12 (Missoula), 07/19/13 (Wrigley), 10/15/13 (Worcester), 10/16/13 (Worcester), 10/25/13 (Hartford), 12/4/13 (Vancouver), 12/6/13 (Seattle), 6/26/14 (Berlin), 6/28/14 (Stockholm), 10/16/14 (Detroit)
  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    unlost dogs wrote:
    She'll do it again the second she has a chance to.

    :lol:

    she like sushi...nothing wrong with that
  • JzPJzP Posts: 933
    The video just shows sweet pea sniffing around. Did you see her actually take a fish? I don't think she is the culprit of your fish preydation.
    ~JzP
  • RKCNDYRKCNDY Posts: 31,013
    JzP wrote:
    The video just shows sweet pea sniffing around. Did you see her actually take a fish? I don't think she is the culprit of your fish preydation.

    troutman has wise words...
    usually raccoons are the culprits...(well usually...)
    The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

    - Christopher McCandless
  • chadwickchadwick up my ass Posts: 21,157
    JzP wrote:
    The video just shows sweet pea sniffing around. Did you see her actually take a fish? I don't think she is the culprit of your fish preydation.
    i agree. dogs generally don't eat fish. no, sir they do not.

    unlost has herself a cat or a raccoon coming by every night. birds are also known to snatch fish right out of pools in folks' backyards. every fish hatchery has anti-bird mesh over the pools.
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  • JzPJzP Posts: 933
    chadwick wrote:
    JzP wrote:
    The video just shows sweet pea sniffing around. Did you see her actually take a fish? I don't think she is the culprit of your fish preydation.
    i agree. dogs generally don't eat fish. no, sir they do not.

    unlost has herself a cat or a raccoon coming by every night. birds are also known to snatch fish right out of pools in folks' backyards. every fish hatchery has anti-bird mesh over the pools.


    My dogs eat tons of dead fish. They don't take them out of the water. Worse thing I have ever done was pry rotten fish out of my mutts jaws. If sweet pea did get the fish you think she would leave some uneaten? Hell no, especially with other dogs around.

    Crows and ravens are real smart! and will take small fish.
    Just put some netting over the top of your pond and you should be good regarding birds.
    ~JzP
  • JzPJzP Posts: 933
    RKCNDY wrote:
    JzP wrote:
    The video just shows sweet pea sniffing around. Did you see her actually take a fish? I don't think she is the culprit of your fish preydation.

    troutman has wise words...
    usually raccoons are the culprits...(well usually...)

    Dern Varmits!
    ~JzP
  • monkeewrenchmonkeewrench Posts: 947
    Maybe she was finishing up what was left by the real culprit. You never know, they'll eat almost anything. One of my two dogs would snack on all the frogs I find around our yard if I let him. Whenever one jumps out of my hand he tries to chomp it mid-air. Can you tell which one?
    DSC04160.jpg
  • PJPixiePJPixie Posts: 3,026
    monkeewrench wrote:
    Maybe she was finishing up what was left by the real culprit. You never know, they'll eat almost anything. One of my two dogs would snack on all the frogs I find around our yard if I let him. Whenever one jumps out of my hand he tries to chomp it mid-air. Can you tell which one?
    DSC04160.jpg


    That picture is just too awesome!
    The best use of Life is Love.
    The best expression of Love is Time.
    The best time to Love is Now.


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  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    monkeewrench wrote:
    Maybe she was finishing up what was left by the real culprit. You never know, they'll eat almost anything. One of my two dogs would snack on all the frogs I find around our yard if I let him. Whenever one jumps out of my hand he tries to chomp it mid-air. Can you tell which one?
    DSC04160.jpg
    That's actually dangerous behavior for your dogs.....the right species of toad consumed will make them quite sick.
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    The dog....really that is quite interesting....I was expecting to see a great blue heron taking your fish....or a mink...or even a otter.....but then again, the heron would not leave any residue....swallow them whole, they do.
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • RKCNDYRKCNDY Posts: 31,013
    unlost...do you have frogs too?

    maybe the Pea was after frogs...or maybe she was watching over the fishies...counting them, making sure some were still in the pond...

    I want a pond at the next house...now maybe not... :|
    The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

    - Christopher McCandless
  • afroannnieafroannnie Posts: 12,995
    RKCNDY wrote:
    unlost...do you have frogs too?

    maybe the Pea was after frogs...or maybe she was watching over the fishies...counting them, making sure some were still in the pond...

    I want a pond at the next house...now maybe not... :|

    i had a fish pond at the house I rented shortly after I graduated college...it had three fish in it...Charles, Nelson, and Riley. Surprisingly, neither my cat or my roommate's cat got the fish...but they did leave squirrel tails on the porch on a regular basis :?
    Show #13 was a lucky one for me....
  • unlost dogsunlost dogs Greater Boston Posts: 12,553
    Hmmm. An interesting thought.

    Although, on one of our early morning runs last week, The Pea had to stop and poop, which is unusual for her. And she pooped up a fairly intact chunk of shubunkin goldfish. That was somewhat startling to face at 6:30 a.m.

    I think I got all the heads out of the yard. That was some creepy work. It was like little freshwater messages from The Godfather. Or, The Dogfather in this case.

    Miss Peeps has a cast-iron stomach and is an indiscriminate eater of every kind of garbage.

    Perhaps I should set up motion-triggered surveillance cameras...
    15 years of sharks 06/30/08 (MA), 05/17/10 (Boston), 09/03/11 (Alpine Valley), 09/04/11 (Alpine Valley), 09/30/12 (Missoula), 07/19/13 (Wrigley), 10/15/13 (Worcester), 10/16/13 (Worcester), 10/25/13 (Hartford), 12/4/13 (Vancouver), 12/6/13 (Seattle), 6/26/14 (Berlin), 6/28/14 (Stockholm), 10/16/14 (Detroit)
  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 41,678
    unlost dogs wrote:
    Hmmm. An interesting thought.

    Although, on one of our early morning runs last week, The Pea had to stop and poop, which is unusual for her. And she pooped up a fairly intact chunk of shubunkin goldfish. That was somewhat startling to face at 6:30 a.m.

    I think I got all the heads out of the yard. That was some creepy work. It was like little freshwater messages from The Godfather. Or, The Dogfather in this case.

    Miss Peeps has a cast-iron stomach and is an indiscriminate eater of every kind of garbage.

    Perhaps I should set up motion-triggered surveillance cameras...
    nah, help out the economy and hire 5 people for round the clock 7 day a week surveiliance of said unlost fisheating doggies. Just make sure they are not illegal aliens. you wouldnt want to face the media fallout, especially in an election year.
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