Prairie Dog

This prairie dog figurine came from Prairie Dog Town some where on the road between Pampa, TX and Amarillo, TX. In about 1955 my mom, my grandmother, and I made the trip from Pampa to Amarillo about once a month or more often when I mom was pregnant with my sister. We were living in Pampa and the Air Force base where my mom had to go for her appointments was near Amarillo. My dad was stationed in England at that time. The Prairie Dog Town made a nice stop for all of us. There was a cafe, gift shop, and a fenced area out back that was full of prairie dogs for the guest to watch as they went about their prairie dog lives. They were feed by the people that ran the place and were a great attraction especially to me. For those that don't know a prairie dog is not a dog, they are a rodent (rat) but are cute. They dig long tunnels through an area that becomes the dog town. When one of them is startled it will stand on it's hind legs give a sharp squeak and dive down the hole with all the others then doing the same thing. They are also very dangerous to livestock and people who have stepped in their holes and broken legs. At one time there was a bounty on them over most of the southwest. We have a few out here on the desert near where we live. They are so leery of humans I have never seen one but have found the towns with the many holes leading to the tunnels.