Samson 1, Field Mouse 0

Well, it happened again. Despite all the money we spend on providing Samson with Iams Dog Food, premium puppy treats and snitches from your table, his predatory instinct to hunt down, kill and eat his own food took over this afternoon. The second inning of the Tigers-Mariners game had just started, so Deirdre and I were enjoying an adult beverage and watching the game. Samson went to the back slider and started squeaking, as if he had to go potty. I let him out and followed him as he ran to the far back of our yard. He sensed something in the underbrush and ran towards an area in our neighbor's back yard. Samson was poised and fixated on spot on the ground and then he pounced on something. I could not tell what he was pawing at, so I walked towards him and he quickly shot me a glance as if to say, "See, Daddy! I got it!"

I slowly approached Samson and he spat out a small, dark object. I grabbed his collar and moved him away. I was then able to see what caught his interest: a dead field mouse. The little guy never had a chance. Samson had caught the mouse in-between his powerful jaws and snapped the backbone of this mouse. Clearly, Samson wanted to eat the remains of this mouse but I had a different idea. I coaxed Samson back into the house, closed the door and went out to collect the body of the mouse. I put on my work gloves, located the mouse and picked it up. His body was still warm, so clearly, Samson had "done the dirty work" and killed the mouse. This little guy was not carrion. No, Samson stalked it, caught it and killed it fair and square. I took the remains to the front of our house, thought a few gentle thoughts about his soul and I carefully put its body into a plastic bag and placed the bag into our trash dumpster.

Despite the domestication of canis lupus familiaris, they have retained their predatory instincts. Samson clearly has not forgotten his roots.