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I was at this gas station in Valdez when this hapened ...

Georgia dog joins Alaska food chain by Marilee Enge (Daily News)

    In the land of magnificent beasts and great struggles between civilization and nature, a pair of elderly tourists in a Winnebago found out just how cruel nature can be.
    The Georgia husband and wife were wiping the windshield of their freshly washed motor home at a service station in Valdez. Their tiny dog ran in circles near its mistress's feet. Nearby, Dennis pumped propane for a customer.
    In a treetop above, a hungry predator spied dinner.
    As Dennis watched in astonishment, a bald eagle that keeps perch above the downtown gas station spread its great wings and dove to the pavement below.
    "The dog was no more than five feet from the lady," Dennis recalled.     "The eagle swooped down and grabbed the dog with both of its talons.     The dog let out a half yelp."  The hound couldn't have known what hit it.
    "The eagle just crushed it," Dennis said. "His head limped to the side."
    With 5 or 6 pounds of "Chihuahua-type" meat in its talons, the eagle     soared out over the bay.
    The horrified woman could only say, "Oh my God." Then she began to cry and her husband came around the camper to comfort her, Dennis said. She cried on his shoulder a while.
    Dennis said he tried to help console the woman and she asked him if the eagle's behavior was normal. Then she got in the passenger seat and her husband walked around the vehicle.
    As soon as he was out of his wife's sight, Dennis watched a big smile break out on the man's face. He clenched his fists in a victory gesture. "Yeah, yeah," he said.
    Then, sober-faced, the husband got in the driver's seat and the couple drove off. Earlier, while Dennis was pumping their gas, the couple told him they left Georgia a month ago and were headed for Fairbanks next.
    Ever since, Dennis has been telling his story and pointing out the eagle to visitors. Some folks have come by to photograph the raptor, and Valdez businesses have begun warning tourists to keep their small dogs indoors.
    Like the Georgia man, Dennis's sympathies don't exactly lie with the     deceased pooch.
    "It was kind of an ugly dog," he said.

Okay, I've got another one. This came from a hunting friend of mine:

A fellow in town hunts with hawks. He had bought a new young hawk and was training him. Now, it sounds as though Laz can correct me if this is wrong, but he had a radio collar or band of some type on the bird in case the bird did not return on it's initial solo voyage.

The guy's fears came true as the bird did not return so he turned on his tracker and started across the field to the woods in the distance. Without any luck and with darkness setting in he gave up for the night. The next morning he returned and picked up the signal which led him to a large tree. At the base of the tree he found a pile of small dog and cat collars. About 60 feet up in this tree, he saw a large owl's nest.

That's a great story from Alaska. I only wish one of our local hawks would follow the example, and snatch up that &$#! yappy Chihuahua that lives across the street. His owners tie him up outside and leave him there for hours, and he yaps the entire time. They also put him out in the middle of the night. Yep, more yapping, and I'm awakened at 3:30 a.m. He's frazzling my last nerve.

It's like a Seinfeld episode, except I don't have a "Newman" to take care of the problem.