While some residents of the South Plains have worked to eradicate the native black-tailed prairie dog, one Texas Tech librarian has opened his home to the embattled rodents.
Rob Weiner has had prairie dogs as roommates for more than 15 years. Weiner said he fights to change perceptions about a misrepresented animal.
“I personally think that prairie dogs are wonderful animals,” Weiner said. “They get a bad rap around here. Lots of people hate them. They view them as a pest. Anything that I can do to change that attitude is my goal because I don’t see them that way at all.”
Scott White, the director of collections, exhibits and research at the National Ranching Heritage Center, said prairie dog populations numbered more than 200 million when early farmers and ranchers first settled the region.
However, that number is now much closer to one million, White said. Landowners have killed off prairie dogs to build cities, farms and ranches.
“When prairie dogs move into a pasture or field, the farmers take issue because they’ll chew up the crops,” White said. “If a cow, horse or mule steps in a prairie dog hole, they may break a leg, which is a very serious injury.”
White, Ph.D., said recent research suggests prairie dogs may play a more important role in the arid West Texas ecosystem than previously thought. The creature’s burrows naturally aerate the soil and provide homes for burrowing owls, a state and federally protected bird.
Recent studies have suggested that holes made by prairie dogs are actually much more beneficial to their ecosystem than previously thought.
Despite being reduced to roughly 1 percent of their original population, White said, prairie dogs are not considered an endangered species. According to the Humane Society of the United States website, the black-tailed prairie dog was last denied endangered species status in 2009.
White said it is legal to exterminate the rodents on private land.
“Think about it,” White said. “If you had them digging up the football stadium and you had people trying to run across there, you’d have a lot of injuries, besides destroying the grass. You’d want to do something about it, too.”
While one prairie dog burrow may not represent a threat to a farmer or rancher, White said, the animals are naturally communal. Prairie dogs are capable of occupying entire fields with populations numbering in the thousands.
This sense of community is what drew Rob Weiner to the animals.
Weiner said he bought his first prairie dog at Walter’s World of Pets on 34th Street and an instant connection was made.
“One year over Christmas, I went to Walter’s with my girlfriend at the time,” Weiner said. “I bought it for her, and I’m the one that ended up falling in love with it. Something clicked. I’ve been around animals my whole life, and prairie dogs exhibit more human-like characteristics in terms of personality, behavior and moodiness. They’re like people.”
Weiner has opened his home to the animals for the past 15 years, remodeling it to better suit his growing family of prairie dogs. He pulled out all of the carpet in his house, began assembling cages in his garage, and installed heating and air conditioning units to keep the animals cool in the summer months and warm in the winter.
Blossom, a young domesticated prairie dog owned by Texas Tech librarian Rob Weiner, explores TheHub@TTU newsroom. Weiner said most of his pet prairie dogs respond to their own name.
Although most of the animals are comfortable in their cages, Weiner said, a select few prefer to accompany him while he completes household chores.
“When I’m home, I’ll open up the cages,” he said. “They always go back. I’ve got a couple that will just stay with me. They’ll sleep beside me or on the couch.”
From The Plains to The Suburbs
Justin Dillon, a sales associate at Walter’s World of Pets, said this type of relationship is necessary for a prairie dog’s health. The animals need interaction.
“There’s a bonding quality with prairie dogs,” Dillon said. “They need to be part of a family unit. Owning multiple prairie dogs is important if you can’t handle them every single day.”
Without this connection, the animal can become depressed and even die, Dillon said.
Domesticating a prairie dog starts early in the animal’s life. Prairie dogs need human interaction early in order to prevent lifelong aggressive tendencies. Dillon said this reflects in the store’s sales patterns. Most of the prairie dogs are bought in the spring — just after breeding season.
Dillon said the store traps prairie dogs locally with special permission from the city and county.
Anita Page said she knows the importance of working with the animals early. Page works as a research assistant in the Virginia Murray Sowell Center for Research and Education in Visual Impairment through the Texas Tech College of Education. Her mother has owned three prairie dogs with varying results.
The first two, Henry and Simon, were brought up differently, resulting in vastly different behaviors.
“Henry was grumpy. Simon was not,” she said. “We got Simon really young and handled him a lot more.”
Page’s current prairie dog, Petra, has developed into a well-behaved family member, she said. Like any family member, though, Petra has a unique personality. She doesn’t always want attention.
“It took us about a year before she’d let us pick her up.” Page said. “Now I can say, ‘Petra, come here,’ and she’ll run over because she wants to be petted. That is unless she’s feeling upset about something.”
It’s easy to recognize the signs of a disgruntled prairie dog, Page said. When its tail bristles and teeth chatter, it’s best to give the prairie dog some space.
Anita Page’s pet prairie dog, named Petra, has a unique personality, she said. Petra generally eats rodent food, but also enjoys specific fruits,nuts and vegetables. Photo by Anita Page
Rob Weiner said he’s seen many prairie dogs exhibit different personalities through the years, and this is part of their appeal.
“The thing you have to realize, with any kind of animal, is that you have to deal with them on their terms,” Weiner said. “You cannot make them behave the way you want them to behave. You have to let them be who and what they are.”
Prairie dog owners will eventually be bitten. Weiner said it’s unavoidable, but the bite may not necessarily mean what one might think.
“You can get bit. I’ve been bit numerous times, and it hurts. Their whole world is through their mouth. So, it’s not always malicious, but it does happen.”
Page said Petra’s status as family entertainer is solidified by her antics and her love for Page’s mother.
“My mother has a lot of arthritis and pain, so it’s nice that she can have something small in her lap to pet,” Page said. “We’ve got her cage in the sunroom, so she can watch a bird feeder outside and the dogs in the backyard. She loves it. She’ll do backflips.”
The Line Between Domestic and Wild
Petra came to Page’s home courtesy of volunteers at the South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Her nephew, Daniel Andrews, is the center’s operations manager.
Andrews said the center works to improve the lives of exotic pets and animals in Lubbock. While prairie dogs aren’t necessarily classified as exotic, the center works to facilitate either returning the animals to the wild or placing them in caring homes.
Andrews said irresponsible pet owners can make life difficult for prairie dogs.
Although their numbers have dwindled, prairie dogs are not considered an endangered species. However, the animals enjoy a level of protection on some public lands, like Prairie Dog town.
“People think, ‘Oh, there’s plenty of them running around outside. I’ll just turn it loose.’ It doesn’t really work. They’re too used to people. They’re too used to regulated temperature and food that’s regularly available. They never really learned the social skills and how to forage and find homes or protect themselves. So, just turning them loose is almost a death sentence.”
Andrews said the center has a lot of work ahead of it in caring for the region’s exotic species, but just seeing the animals being taken care of is one good payoff.
For Rob Weiner, the benefits of sharing his home with prairie dogs are countless.
“I think that living with prairie dogs has made me a better human-being,” Weiner said. “It’s made me more in tune with the world and life. I’ve seen the beauty of God’s little creatures.”
About David Talley
