Jim Taylor
In southern Arizona
Sunday, September 15, 2019, 06:14

north of Tucson where I lived I killed a lot of wild dogs. One year I shot 37 between May and August. The deer and rabbit population around there increased the next few years.

In the mountains behind Oracle, AZ there was a large pack of wild dogs. I was riding my horse one day and heard a lot cows bawling. Looking up toward the top of one of the ridges I could see a large herd of cows running.

That is unusual for them so I rode up around and onto the ridge. Took me maybe a half hour or so. As I came into a small stand of trees the cows came running back past me, slightly below me on the mountain. There was a large pack of dogs chasing them. The dogs were not barking or making noise.

I had only my 45 single action and was sure wishing I had a semi auto rifle about then. I climbed off the horse, got the sixgun out and waited. As they came below me I opened up on them. I hit 3 out of the 5 shots I fired. At the shooting the dogs began disappearing into the brush. Again there was no barking or yipping.

There must have been 20 or 25 dogs in that pack.

Some time later my daughter and I were riding and had 3 dogs come out of the brush and right at us. I had a .45 ACP on and whacked one of them. At the shot the other two whirled back into the brush. Again, they made no sounds. It was eerie.

Whenever I was in the hills I shot every dog I saw that did not have a human with it.