[pooh]

Tonight our social club met and one of the members who has had two gutter attacks showed a picture of the type of beast he has seen ripping through the guttering. The canine appears to be a type of dog that resembles a dingo but with a less full tail. He remarked that this beast was ruthless in trying to reach its prey, ripping through guttering with its teeth. The two pieces of downspout he showed attested to that.
A baited large humane trap netted a wild cat last evening...not the canine. More hotdogs put in place, trap reset and now, time to wait.

Please, if you are out after dark, be careful with your pets. Do not just open the door and let them wander around the yard off leash while you wait. The predators are swift.

Here's a picture that closely resembles what he saw while it was on its hunt. The noise was pretty loud as it took down the downspouts and tried to capture whatever was hiding in the aluminum guttering.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by pooh

Tonight our social club met and one of the members who has had two gutter attacks showed a picture of the type of beast he has seen ripping through the guttering. The canine appears to be a type of dog that resembles a dingo but with a less full tail. He remarked that this beast was ruthless in trying to reach its prey, ripping through guttering with its teeth. The two pieces of downspout he showed attested to that.
A baited large humane trap netted a wild cat last evening...not the canine. More hotdogs put in place, trap reset and now, time to wait.

Please, if you are out after dark, be careful with your pets. Do not just open the door and let them wander around the yard off leash while you wait. The predators are swift.

Here's a picture that closely resembles what he saw while it was on its hunt. The noise was pretty loud as it took down the downspouts and tried to capture whatever was hiding in the aluminum guttering.

Holy cow! I read that the humane trap caught a wild cat and I read wildcat. You mean a kitty, Pooh?

[pooh]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Holy cow! I read that the humane trap caught a wild cat and I read wildcat. You mean a kitty, Pooh?

I believe he said it was a kitty type cat, probably a feral cat, Gracie. We have had feral cats wandering in the past. I worry about the bunnies I have in my yard. I've chased away a hawk that wanted rabbit for dinner, now I've got to listen for that doggie beast!

[The Village Girl]

This looks like a coyote to me.

[Dirigo]

I have talked to two people live in TV who tell me there are families of coyotes living in TV. They have to spray their trash bags with ammonia to keep the coyotes from tearing into thebags when they put their trash out the night before trash pickup.

[jblum315]

I believe that is a coyote. They do go after cats, bunnies, whatever.

[pooh]

The picture of the dog is a dingo, not a coyote. I've been assured that what he saw was not a coyote. The homeowner says he is very familiar with coyotes and this critter wasn't one. The picture he presented was very similar to this dingo except for the tail.

I've not seen the creature, but coyotes were my first thought, too, but he says no. We'll see when something other than a cat is trapped. In the meantime, watch out for your pets.

[EdV]

Could also be a Coydog.

[cgalloway6]

I also saw a fox running across Buena Vista near 466A about a week ago. Can't mistake that bushy tail.

[Deerfly]

My guess is that the animal is a feral dog. There are plenty of them around and tearing into downspouts from gutters is not a new thing. Like feral cats, they operate mostly at night.
Several years ago there were quite a few downspouts torn off of houses north of 466. Seems that the feral dogs are chasing bunnies, feral cats, and field rats that try to take refuge in the downspout.
Law of the jungle!

[pooh]

Originally Posted by Deerfly

My guess is that the animal is a feral dog. There are plenty of them around and tearing into downspouts from gutters is not a new thing. Like feral cats, they operate mostly at night.
Several years ago there were quite a few downspouts torn off of houses north of 466. Seems that the feral dogs are chasing bunnies, feral cats, and field rats that try to take refuge in the downspout.
Law of the jungle!

I tend to agree with you...feral dogs, though I didn't really think there were many around. A neighbor saw a large copper colored dog running down the golf course, her house looks on to a fairway, around 5:30 a couple of days ago. Said the color was striking, but the ears on the dog she saw, weren't erect.

If the aluminum eating creature keeps this up, we'll have to see if a gutter company will offer neighborhood discounts for repairs...

[buggyone]

It does not even have to be a feral dog but very well could be a pet dog. Some of the pet owners - especially of larger dogs - let their dogs run off on their own early in the morning or late at night.

[cgalloway6]

I never let my dog out alone in TV but she does the same thing at home in IL - chases ground squirrels or chipmunks into the downspout and chews the downspout trying to get to the target. I finally put chicken wire over the end of the downspouts so the critters won't go in. She can't catch them and they just hide somewhere else. She's a 12 lb shih-tzu maltese mix and I couldn't believe how she could tear up a downspout so completely, even when I caught her doing it. I think the sound the animals make in the downspout scratching trying to climb up is so close it just drives the dogs nuts. The dog is so close to the animal it gets real scared, tries to climb up, exciting the dog which tries harder to get to the animal and on and on.