Somehow we seem to have collected a trio of vicious killers when all we were looking for was regular house pets. Here’s the tally so far:

Mia (veteran dog):
– killed one rabbit in a fenced corner of our yard
– killed another rabbit while I was walking her through the park on a leash
– killed a mouse in the basement
– chomped a live crow while I was walking her on a leash; the crow only got away when I yanked on the leash
– again while on the leash, grabbed up a small dog that was on the end of his own leash, and was preparing to snap his neck when I intervened; the other dog owner was not at all impressed
– has had about five unsuccessful encounters with skunks; this item probably doesn’t belong on this list but I feel that it helps to illustrate the pattern of behaviour

Hannah (apprentice dog):
– has caught and killed at least one squirrel and possibly two; this brings the total number of squirrels I have ever heard of being caught and killed by dogs to one or possibly two

Webster (cat):
– caught and tormented the local chipmunk
– killed two mice in the basement
– made life hell for the baby rabbits in the vicinity of the house, stalking and catching them on multiple occasions

They all three of them are the most loyal and affectionate of pets. With us, they are. With all humans, really. With the rest of the animal kingdom, somewhat less so. I don’t remember this kind of thing going on with the dogs and cats I grew up with.*

Is it us?

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* Well, with the dogs, anyway. I’m sure the cats accounted for their share of birds