Hi
Had to put in my 2 cents worth. Living in an area where there are several
feral cats the thing that concerns me most is rabies. Animals do not always
show the symptoms of rabies (as my family learned in Big Lake Texas. Nearly
everyone in town played with and fed a stray cat which only began to look
sick several days afterward. Nearly everyone in town had to get rabies
shots at some $600 each)

If you truly care about your pets you make sure they have all thier shots
and proper meds (a dog with heartworm is truly a sad thing to see) You will
also make sure they are no threat to anyone. I have come close to killing a
dog only once and then it was a pit bull threatening a small child. The dog
was behind a very flimsy fence and the child walking home from school. The
dog was able to get part way out of the fence, if it had rushed the child I
would have hit it with my car. Needless to say if you have an animal of
that type you had better have it under control at all times. I have also
stood watch for kids when another neighbor's rottweiller gets out
(fortunately it's a very docile animal that doesn't get out of the driveway
when it gets out)

My dog is always under control when I take him outside. Most of my
neighbors don't do this.

We also have possums, squirrels (2 kinds), lots of birds, snakes, geckos,
anoles, and some feral dogs that live in the large city cared for easement
for the power company. I can truly say the only animal I ever wanted to get
rid of were the rats in the attic and a mouse in the house.

Shell