The Crazy Things We Do in SoCal

One of the not so fun things about living in the "country" in Southern California is having to deal with rattlesnakes.  Some dogs in our neighborhood have had some nasty encounters with snakes this season.  We back up to hundreds of acres of open space and the snakes seem to be coming down in record numbers this year.  I actually killed a medium-sized one myself in my driveway a week ago.  I thought I would have "super-mom snakekiller" status,  but the hawks got the dead snake before the kids could even see him.  I usually am not a fan of killing any wild thing, but a rattlesnake living in my front yard does not sit well with me. Here is our dog, Luna working with a trainer at a Rattlesnake Aversion Training Class.  There is a rattlesnake in the grass right under her nose. Our neighbors hosted this class yesterday on their property.  40 dogs participated throughout the day.  The dogs were rigged up with a special collar that gave them a slight shock if they showed any interest in any of the live rattlesnakes that were brought there by the trainers.  The other photo is one of the small snakes. Notice the muzzle around his head.  I wish I had a photo of the biggest snake.  He was about 5 feet long and very angry. I think the guy who muzzles these snakes must win the award for most crazy job ever. My camera is not the greatest, and they would not let us get too close.  Luna did a fine job, I hope she has learned to stay away from Rattlers.