It’s been a few weeks now that Koda, our Golden K Hunter, has been on self-assigned mole patrol. We’ve lived on our current property in the Sierra Nevada Foothills for many years and have never had moles. Until now….

The landscape around our property is mostly natural and reflects the beauty of the foothills we live in. This past spring we decided just a little bit of lawn would be nice so I prepared a small area for planting. I tilled the hard dirt and clay, I added soil amendments, and laid sod down. The great thing about sod is that there is instant gratification. It looked great. Job well done! Right? Not so much….

Within a few days we noticed that The Girls were digging in the sod. (sigh) We also noticed molehills in and around the sod. (argh!) After several days the sod was gone and so was the mole. Unfortunately The Girls had dug up most of the sod. But on the plus side they had eradicated the moles. Or so we thought.. Shortly after we began noticing molehills all over the large fenced area where The Girls spend most of their time.

Enter Koda The Hunter

Koda has a strong prey drive. Over the years she has caught and injured various critters most notably Stellar Jay fledglings and squirrels. Sometime she catches them and kills them. And then of course she throws her body down and rolls all over them with a devious grin on her snout. Much to Kloe’s chagrin Koda has not killed any cats. Kloe hates, hates, hates, cats!

So back to the moles….

Koda’s dedication is admirable!

Koda spends a majority of her day laying besides the newest molehill (or the one her nose takes her to) with a fixed stare occasionally digging and then back to prolonged stares at the the hole waiting for a mole to emerge which of course never happens.

Koda has great recall. She can be most places inside the house or out and around the property and if I call she comes running to me. On a recent night, well after the sun had gone down, she was still on patrol. I could barely see her figure in the dark and I called to her. Nothing. “Koda, here! Koda, come!” Nothing. I had to bribe her with a high value treat and she finally relented and came in. First thing next morning she was back on patrol.

And so it goes these days with Koda. I’m not sure when or how this will end. Our property is way too big to eradicate moles without a major effort. Any type of poison is obviously out of the question as The Girls share the ground (above) with the moles (below).

I guess this one’s on Koda, The Golden K Hunter, to solve and resolve.