Sheba kills the muskrat

The balance between nature and man's interests is a precarious one; take the case of the mighty muskrat. Not as big as a beaver, but larger than the river rat, a family of muskrats will infiltrate quickly and can compromise the man-made dams on Indiana ponds and lakes.





It's an ongoing battle for water Hoosiers; sometimes trapping, sometimes loading up the ol' shotgun, and for every one taken out, there seems to be a nest of new ones. Pioneers used to predict the severity of upcoming winters by judging the mud thicknesses of muskrat nests.





Muskrats have huge teeth and claws and are absolutely fierce when cornered. I wouldn't want to try and back one into a corner, so maybe you can imagine my surprise when Sheba, a normally mild-mannered neighbor German Shepherd, went after one that ran across our driveway.





What was it doing out of the water, you say? I'm not sure, but I have seen them in the yard many times when there is clover to eat. In any case, Sheba the dog had come down to visit the children and perhaps decided to defend them as she took off after this big muskrat.

All I know is that I heard a tremendous barking as if there was a bear or its equivalent in the yard. I rushed outside to hear fierce scrabbling, vicious fighting, and then silence. I still couldn't see what was happening behind the tall prairie grass and cattails, but pretty soon, to my absolute astonishment, came two little girls hoisting a big fishing net they had used to scoop up the dead muskrat.

My eyes grew huge with amazement. "What happened?" I said.

"Sammy and Sheba killed the muskrat!" the smaller girl said proudly.

"I see, how did that happen?" I asked.

"We were petting Sheba when this huge muskrat ran across the driveway. For some reason, Sheba took off after it and we followed her. She ran up on it and started fighting with it, and it was attacking her wildly, trying to bite her. It was all teeth and claws fighting."

Then Sammy said, "I was so scared for Sheba I grabbed a big rock out of the driveway and I threw it and hit the muskrat. I guess it stunned it or distracted it for a second, because right then Sheba was able to grab it with her jaws and kill it."

"Sammy, you and Sheba killed the muskrat together! I'm so proud of you, you girls are big muskrat hunters!" I couldn't have been more proud of my girls than if they had been Indian maidens, out hunting for dinner. The courage and resourcefulness! It usually takes a man with a shotgun! It makes me grin just thinking and writing about it.

I guess I feel sorry in a way for the loss of the sweet life of the muskrat on his happy pond, but maybe he'll go to a land full of more clover and willow fronds. Peace be to the cycle of life, and its amazing variety and diversity. And 'yeah' to mild-mannered, non-aggressive Sheba, the smart German Shepherd, who earned her stripes and her dog food for her first musky kill. She deserved a big, cool jump off the dock and a few hugs after that.