Prairie Dogs

On our way home from Branson we decided to go through the wildlife refuge again. We were in no hurry and we knew of a place that usually had bufalo and always had prairie dogs that we decided to stop at.

When we got out of the car the prairie dogs decided to welcome us. Notice the dog at Princess' feet. Yep, it came right up to her. Then it sniffed her toes.

It was crazy! This dog had no fear.

I guess she passed inspection. Then the dog decided to inspect Popeye. So I got the brilliant idea of getting a few graham crackers out of the car to share with our new friends. Now, I know some of you are gonna say that it isn't good to feed wild animals people food. And you would be right, but our new friend was so polite that I just couldn't help myself. So, Bobo ran to the van and came back with some crackers for everyone. And then he made a friend. See? Crackers are the universal lanuguage of friends.Once we started sharing our crackers we started making lots of friends. Popeye made a friend. The kids loved how the dogs held the crackers in their hands, err, paws. Bear made a friend. And then we saw the babies. Oh, prairie dog babies, you are so precious.

We shared our crackers with them also, though we had to throw the crackers to them because they wouldn't come very close.

But, Mama prairie dog didn't like that because she immediately came over and took the crackers away.

Oops. Sorry, Mama prairie dog. Then Bear made another friend. A different Mama prairie dog. Who felt comfortable enough with her new friend to take the cracker out of his hand rather than having it thrown to her. Then sit right next to him while she ate it. While her friends looked on. Princess and Popeye tried to make friends with them. They were successful. I think it liked Princess' pink dress. And her hair. And her smell. It just liked her. So do I. We really enjoyed meeting and sharing crackers with our new friends.

Babione 6