Hawk Attacks Chihuahua

http://www.local6.com ^ | UPDATED: 10:53 a.m. EDT August 6, 2003 | http://www.local6.com

[Tank-FL]

NEW YORK -- It was like a Wild Kingdom fight for survival in Manhattan's Bryant Park. A hawk attacked a Chihuahua dog Tuesday.

The hawk is in the park as part of a program to scare away pigeons and rodents. However, the dog was on a leash near some bushes when the hawk swooped down.

Thomas Cullen, the falconer who is in charge of the hawks, said the bird may have mistaken the dog for a rat.

A few people were able to separate the bird and dog. The dog suffered wounds and was being treated.

The Bryant Park Restoration Committee, which hired Cullen and his hawks, said it may suspend the program.

[Devil_Anse]

Hond? What's that? Some heraldry term??

[landerwy]

Just a joke, I swear. Hond is a dutch word for.... well, it was just a joke!!

[Devil_Anse]

I can't believe I missed the connection btw hond and hund, as in Dachshund!

[BayouCoyote]

"still hate those little POS's"

The dogs or your brothers? :)

[vin-one]

just the dogs, my brothers are ok, usually

[FourPeas]

female sailors were scared to go to the pizza place to bring home pizza's because if an eagle saw them walking with it they would swoop down and make the females drop it for a free meal

I feel much safer now that our armed services have embraced feminism. (Need I close my tag?)

[landerwy]

I can't believe you missed that! Bad joke anyway.

[Myrddin]

My wife is a master falconer. When she was training her Red Tail hawk in the back yard, it decided to "ride" one of our dogs across the yard. That was the last time the dog opted to chase the hawk across the yard as it was being trained to return to the glove.

We had another incident where our Jack Russell Terrier stepped into the mews while my wife was tending to the hawk. The hawk jumped off the perch and attached its talons to the dogs head. It was a precarious task to pry the talons off and keep them out of the dog's eyes.

My wife refuses to handle Bald Eagles. It takes a very heavy glove that goes up over your shoulder to do it safely. They can easily land on your shoulder and take out a subclavian or carotid artery. Beautiful birds, but not worth the risk.

[Myrddin]

My wife solves that by putting the bird on her fist and watching a good movie. A little bowl with some bird munchies and a BIG TOWEL is in order. Nothing like a "buteo blowout" to spoil the rug. Red Tails are famous for that. You can keep a Peregrine on a perch in the living room because their "poop" drops straight down.

A Cooper's hawk is a real treat to "man". Those little suckers don't like to have a human look them in the eye. They are quite happy to try to bounce off your face. My wife had a very successful hunting season one year. Her Cooper's took lots of baby bunnies. It was unusual because they tend to prefer eating little brown birds and lizards.