I don’t know why these remains keep surfacing for Trucker to find. Although we are in a location where wildlife flourishes. I do know one thing for certain, Trucker would never let us go hungry. He is a generous hunter who graciously and delicately presents me with these startling surprises.
Trucker has thankfully never brought me anything alive. Apparently he likes his gifts already deceased and ready for us to feast upon. The flat squirrel Trucker brought me that evening went into the outside trash can. It wasn’t the only carcass the can has seen.
Back to yard work I returned. Trucker disappeared for a few minutes. Again a crunching noise caught my attention, and I looked up to see him lying in the same place gnawing on the rest of the dried up squirrel body. I snatched it from his mouth and wondered where he had the rest of it stashed and how soon he’d return with more.
I was carrying in bags of food at the time, so I think that Trucker wanted to carry in his own frozen contribution.
One day this winter as I unloaded groceries from my car in our driveway, Trucker bounced around like an excited child. I noticed him disappear into the brush while I carried bags into the house.
Because your dog just wants to say thanks
Some other dog experts said that this could be just where your dog wants to say thank to you, or that they love you deeply.
Again, this makes sense to me as we are their food providers, play mates, we take them for walks, and we give them a safe home. They then give us their unconditional love in return… and the occasional unwanted gift in the form of a dead animal!
A dead mouse delivery could be their way of giving you thanks. We might say it with flowers, but perhaps dogs say it with a rotting and maggot-infested mouse or rat carcass instead? As you will already know, they do have a love of all things that are stinky!
Another thing that makes this one ring true to me is the common theory about dogs thinking of us as their parents. If this is true, then it stands to reason that they would want to give us a reward in the form a dead mouse.
What if my dog eats an animal carcass?
It could be very harmful to your dog’s health if he eats a dead animal carcass. You never know what kind of diseases or parasites it contains. Call your vet right away if this happens. They may advise you to get your dog to throw up by giving him hydrogen peroxide. Typically, your dog will need 1 teaspoon of it for every 10 pounds of body weight, but make sure you confirm with your vet first.