FOXSYLVANIA

— MonsterQuest seems to be straining a bit to come up with new material, and the new season opener was not a strong muchless a dazzling entry; we all know that there are feral dogs out there, some abandoned pets, others wild for generations.

The problem is a real and serious one, however, with significant wild dog populations reported in Detroit, Toledo, East St. Louis, and other cities in the midwest. Large packs of territorial predators prowl the streets, often disease-ridden and aggressive. This is not a breed-specific issue but rather one of human mismanagement; yep, ole homo sap botches things again!

In 2005, a map of canine DNA was established.  MonsterQuest drew blood from some feral dogs that they succeeded in caging, and found genetic traces of Pit Bull, German Shepherd, and Rotweiler lineage, as well as more remote traces of other breeds; mixing the genes of more aggressive breeds with feral dogs yields potentially undesirable behavioral traits.  MonsterQuest also used a camera on a collar or “collar-cam” to monitor the daily location and activities of wild dogs, finding that the packs tend to hang in wooded areas as well as abandoned homes; again, no great surprises.

As urban decay accelerates in the troubled economy and people flee the cities, the problems posed by feral dog packs are increasing.  An attack by a wild dog occurs nationally once every 40 seconds, some resulting in deaths…