Hello from Bideford Devon UK. The most wild critters we meet are joggers especially after Boris has jumped up at them ! We walk on the Tarka trail which is also a cycle track and some of the lycra clad cyclists go past wildly.
@Boris, oh yes cyclists! We have the Cuckoo Trail very near to us and have the same problem! They are known as MAMILS - middle aged men in lycra
LOL, MAMILS, have to remember that one. We have MAFILS too. I agree humankind are far more likely to present a danger to the dog or me. And to themselves. Ours also ride snowmobiles, ATVs and dirt bikes. Just this morning I was looking for the place on the snowmobile trail a young man was going too fast, missed a turn and hit a tree. He is local and apparently almost lost his arm. The last one who hit a tree killed himself. Yes, ticks and mosquitoes. Because of the exposure, climate warming and increasing numbers of the ones that carry the deadly diseases, very dangerous.
I feel your pain ! I walk the Camel Trail here in Cornwall , huge signs say that pedestrians have priority over cyclists , I conclude that most of said cyclists cant read
We get MAMILS inthe Forest of Dean too. It's OK if they stick to the cycle trail as we can take other paths. It's the nutters who hurl themselves down the steep muddy forest paths that worry me. I worry about one of them hitting Holly. They go fast, can't always brake in time, and seldom give a warning.
I always worry that I'll find someone badly injured they do seem to cycle and jog about with not real care for others safety or their own. A Dogwalking friend found people hanging from trees twice on separate occasions. I hate the thought of being in a similar occasion. I've come across some people who have clearly needed some help on a couple of occasions and managed to get help for them on one occasion I don't think the girl would have survived much longer if I hadn't called an ambulance and the police.
@sdegg , that's terrible. You could get some kind of PTSD from that. Thank heavens you appeared when you did for that girl though. I know in the news here whenever some long lost person is finally found, their bones, it seems it's always a dog walker or mushroom pickers who find them. We have been out and I've smelled something dead and rotting and wondered, should I go look?
@Snowshoe I know what you mean. There have been a couple of bodies found up at Tentsmuir where I love to walk over the years. And one quite a number of years ago in a field of a nearby farm (that one was a murder*). It's always a dog walker...... *pronounced in a broad Scottish accent in a "Taggart" style
It's a joke between my French OH and me - he loves Taggart (I'm not all that keen). He can't adopt an English accent to save his life. Been here 25 years and he still sounds like inspector Clouseau (mind, he just falls about laughing when I speak French, he says I sound so English I must be taking the mick....). But he can do a Scottish accent, with the rolling Rs, to perfection.
I would SO love to hear an audio file of that.... Although I have to admit I "hear" your OH often in my head, Julie, because of the time you told us about Charlie's "concrete bum". Whenever Simba stops and won't move on a walk (often) I always hear "'E 'as a concrete bum!" in a French accent....
Can't really avoid the areas it were I live. The girl had drunk so much booze and drugs she was totally unresponsive. When we found her she was being sexually molested by a guy who was with her while she was unconcius and wetting herself and suffering from a reaction to the alchol. She was so cold and unresponsive her lips were blue and her friend who was with her was so intoxicated we had to make sure she didn't jump into the river. We were worried that the 2 guys with these girls would take them away and really hurt them. It ws a horrible situation but we did manage to get the girls to safety and get the guys taken away by the police.
Remembered another one we have after watching Dr. Dee Alaska Vet. Porcupines. On the TV show Dr. Dee anaethetized a dog to pull quills out of it's mouth and tongue. 25 quills. Our Whisper jumped on a Porky and got a face full as well as her chest and legs, thankfully not her eyes. Our Vet anaethetized her too and took two hours to pull 212 quills out. I remember the number because it's the house number of where I grew up. We were still finding quills a year later, after they migrated through her body to poke out on her shoulders and the back of her neck. Whisper was given antibiotics to take for +a week, the quills are dirty and greasy. And we quit obedience class for a couple of weeks as she was too sore to walk much. Porkies are so slow moving, it's hardly their fault if a dog jumps on them but the encounter can have serious outcome for the dog. The Vet told us we should be lucky it was a big, full grown porky becasue the quills were big and easy to find. And he said if she'd met up with a skunk and been bitten he'd have to quarantine her.
Swans, as a bold young teenager Homer tried to chase them but he leaves well alone now. Humans on bicycles on the tow path and humans in rowing boats on the river. Along with human rubbish washed up onto the river bank, which can be quite dangerous.
Nobody has mentioned Raccoons. They aren't that big, but they can hurt a dog in a fight, especially in the water. We have black bears, cougars, coyotes, and a few wolves. I wouldn't worry about the coyotes with a full grown lab. I don't recall hearing about a cougar attack on a large dog, but they are certainly capable if the right opportunity arose. Black Bears are formidable, and they don't like dogs. We don't usually see them, but most of the trash bins in our neighborhood are bear resistant for a reason. We have a small wolf population, mostly in the NE corner of the state. I believe a rancher lost one of his sheep or cattle protection dogs to a wolf pack last year.
Someone I know has a pet raccoon. Random, I know. He gives a home to lots of illegally imported critters that are seized by customs. I'm not sure if Onion was one of them, or if he ended up there for some other reason. He arrived as a little thing, who loved to climb up your legs for a cuddle. Fine if you were wearing jeans, but not so great with shorts on. When he reached adulthood, it was even less fun. Those claws are SHARP! Onion goes out for walks on a harness, just like a dog, and comes back when called. Not your average raccoon
