Night Stalkers

 I live in the typical California urban neighborhood, the homes are about 16 feet apart, separated by a 5 foot, wooden privacy fence.  (I use the word "privacy" loosely.)  Anyway, my neighbor was describing unusual nighttime activity occurring on his back fence, the noise of an unseen animal, and a barely seen figure looming in the dark.  

I have a Stealthcam which I've used on trails around our neighbor and have captured images of deer, coyote, and bobcat in the canyons.  I decided to set up the camera on my fence looking toward the area where my neighborhood has seen and heard the unusual activity.  I wasn't convinced that coyotes or bobcats were lurking about.

I've seen coyotes strutting down the street, oblivious to the humans who have taken over his space.  They've rewards us by killing our small pets; we've lost four cats over twenty years at the teeth of the coyote.  I saw on my Ring camera two of them chase a poor cat to our door then savagely kill it. 

So, after two nights of filming the dark, I checked the SD card and was rewarded:

A bobcat peering into the lens of my Stealthcam.

The bobcat sauntering down the fence line toward my neighbor's residence.

The familiar possum walks the fence.

The ghost of the neighborhood.

Caño Negro Wild Life Refuge

Located near the Nicaraguan border in a marshy, jungle-like area, the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is a wonderful place to visit while staying in Costa Rica to get a sense of the expansive habitat and ecosystem that evolves in that important part of Central America.  

A float trip down the flooded Rio Frio doesn’t actually place you inside the wild life refuge but it gives the nature enthusiast access to all the birds, animals, reptiles and monkeys which are found within the actual sanctuary, as they inhabit the banks and canyons along the river.  

The little village of Los Chiles, about 2 miles from the Nicaraguan border, is about 2 hours’ drive from La Fortuna, located in the Arenal Volcano area.   The road to Los Chiles is hard-paved but once you get to the turnoff at the Immigration checkpoint, be prepared for a wash-board ride on a bumpy gravel road.  For about 20 minutes, as we slowly jostled along the road, we passed flooded marshland which held the occasional herd of cattle and the requisite flocks of egrets hanging about.  When we arrived at the river, there was a little restaurant where there were two river boats tied waiting for passengers. 

During our tour in late December, the rainy season had not stopped and the banks of the Rio Frio were overflowing into the lowlands.  The current of the river was rather swift and several times during the float, the heavens opened with a rain shower reminding me that the first word in “rainforest” is “rain.”

The boat captain and the guide were extremely knowledgeable and diligent as they searched along the banks for interesting birds or animals.  Here are just a few which they found:

The large iguanas were perched up in the trees sunning themselves whenever there was  break in the clouds.

We saw the tree species of monkeys along the banks of the Rio Frio:  Howler (1st image), the spider, and then the white-faced monkey (image 2 and 3).   The last image is of the two deciding to "attack" the boat when they realized we were sitting there observing.  Gave everyone a "cheap" thrill!

Or should I say a "scare" because of the amount of noise they made and their sudden aggression.

And of course the birds were plentiful along the swollen banks of the river.  Their plumage and beauty was breath-taking.

The Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is a "must see" if you are in the area while enjoying a vacation to the Arenal Volcano area.  

 

 

DNA

In the 1980’s the scientific use of DNA was exploding, especially its use in courts to identify suspects or specific evidence as it related to a particular investigation.  Over the last thirty years, the use of DNA has accelerated in the medical field to find cures for diseases, identify genetic material, cloning, treatment protocols and determining family trees and heritage.   So why not try to do the same for a pet?  What was once an expensive test, now is a reasonable cost to determine the genetic history of your pet, say your dog!  And that is what I recently did.

Some background:  I never had a dog during my lifetime.  Oh, a couple of strays wandered into the backyard occasionally, but my mother made sure that they were quickly moved on because we had no money to feed another belly. 

About six years ago, my daughter who was in high school begged me to get a dog… everyone seemed to have one in the neighborhood; a California thing I guess. So after much family discussion about who would care for such a pet, we set out to search for the perfect dog.  Near our home is an animal shelter; I made many trips to that shelter looking for the perfect dog.  I never found one.  Pit bulls, Chihuahuas, barkers, yappers… none seemed to be the one.  We went to a couple dog adoption fairs; nope!  Then we found a place that sold dogs in a neighboring village.   It was a pet store and they had a few puppies:  aren’t they always so cute! 

 

While looking at them we noticed this really cute, furry, tan model which seemed energetic with personality.  After holding and playing with it my daughter announced that it was the one!  I suggested we wait a bit, you know, check around.  But of course the sales pitch, “I can’t hold him for you.”  So it was a now or never purchase.  

 12 weeks old.

I wanted an Australian shepherd or a German shepherd:  this one was offered as a Golden Retriever mix.  Boy was it cute!  Seriously. And the personality was on display; he took right to our daughter and literally wouldn’t let go!  Come on dad… “This is the one!”   So after paying $345, including shots and other things, we became the proud owner of a cute puppy which was allegedly born on 5/7/2010.   

At the first vet visit, the doctor checked “Mickey” over and asked what the date of birth was, as he thought Mickey was less than 8 weeks old and barely weened.  Also, he was curious about the breed:  we showed him the papers.  He thought maybe he was Golden and Husky mix.  I showed him black spots on the tongue and he said that it was from heavy pigmentation found in animal cells.  He assured me that the Chow breed required a blue-black tongue and gums and were bred specifically for that in the mouth. 

 

 One Year Old

 So for the last six years we have enjoyed having a Golden Mix.  He has a beautiful long tan coat, is about 60 pounds and stands about 22 inches at his shoulders, slightly smaller than the local pure Goldens we see in the neighborhood.  Mickey has continuing ear problems and skin issues, but otherwise is a healthy dog.

  Two Years Old

Mickey is instinctively protective of the house and daughter.  Nothing come between him and her.  And if you do, he lets you know you have invaded her space.  He is not a dog’s dog.  He loves interaction with humans and always seeks them out.  If they happen to have a dog with them, he will cautiously work his way around the dog to get to the owner for that reassuring pet and affection.  

One thing I noticed is that Mickey LOVES to pounce on gopher holes.  If he sees a mound of fresh dirt he immediately pounces on it and frantically digs, his nose buried into the small hole.  Not a retrieving instinct, for sure. 

Four Years Old

So who is Mickey?  What is his heritage?  I decided to find out through a DNA test.  I did some research and determined that “Wisdom Panel” was highly recommended.  So I set up the account, received the swabs, took the sample and waited for the results.  Within a week and a half I received the results: 

 

Mickey is determined to be 25% Chow Chow, 25% American Staffordshire terrier, 13% Siberian husky, and 37% a mix of three distinct breed groups.  These groups comprise the Terrier Group which includes the Russell Terrier, Schnauzer and Chihuahua; the Companion Group which includes the Pug, Shih Tzu and the Pomeranian; and the Sighthound Group which includes the Irish wolfhound, Whippet and the Italian Greyhound.   Did you notice… No Golden Retriever!   So regardless of what the “paperwork” says, it isn’t always accurate.

 Six Years Old

Now that I know what Mickey is (genetically) I can understand some of his characteristics:  terriers hunt vermin and were bred to go down the holes of the fox and other pests; the Chow is protective of one or two family members and sometimes adopts an aloof disposition to people other than their owners; and the Am Staff is a people-oriented dog who is loyal to his family.  The Am Staff is also vulnerable to skin allergies 

So that is about it… we love Mickey just the way he is…. he’s a “Good Boy!”