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Action Line Health officials eschew any ideas of prairie dog platter

Repulsive rodent or creative cuisine? As a carrier of disease, health officials advise against eating the critter.

Could the next “Men Who Grill” feature prairie dogs as the main course? Being a localvore, I thought perhaps our free-range prairie dogs might be delicious if properly seasoned. There are many to be harvested for free around the movie theater and other locations across the county. Do you think this is a viable solution to prairie dog overpopulation? Sign me, Hungry

While Action Line applauds your quest for creative critter cuisine, a rodent roast might leave a bitter taste in many people’s mouths.

For some reason, it’s perfectly OK to hunt and eat deer, elk, ducks, geese, antelope and a host of other animals. But prairie dogs? People get squeamish, even repulsed.

Maybe it’s the phrase “dog,” despite the fact that prairie dogs aren’t members of the canine family.

Apparently, the name has been around a long time, stemming from the fact that the animal’s warning call sounds like barking.

The journals of Lewis and Clark noted in 1804 that the exploratory party “discovered a village of an animal the French call the prairie dog.”

Moreover, the prairie dog’s genus is “Cynomys,” which roughly translates in Greek as “dog mouse.”

But the creatures are more mouse than dog. Actually, they’re closely related to squirrels. So the name “prairie squirrel” would be more fitting.

If we put “squirrel” on the menu, it probably would go over even worse than prairie “dog.”

Which brings us back to the table: Is the prairie dog platter a gastronomically or ecologically “viable solution?”

The folks at San Juan Basin Health Department cringe at the thought. It’s not prairie dogs themselves – it’s the fleas on the prairie dogs that are the problem.

Prairie dog fleas carry the bacterium that causes the Black Death plague, the scourge that wiped out much of Europe’s population in the Middle Ages.

Just last month, a local person contracted the plague, and the health department determined it was caused by fleas from a prairie dog town in western La Plata County. The victim has since recovered.

“Prairie dogs have all sorts of diseases,” said Keri McDuffie, with the heath department. “You don’t want to use them as a food source. They are bad news.”

If you embrace the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, stick to big game and waterfowl and stay away from rodents and small animals, she said.

So what’s a famished fan of fresh flora and fauna to do? It’s simple. Attend the Community Taste event this Thursday!

(Consider this a shameless plug.)

The Community Taste is a wonderful event to benefit the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado.

From 5:30 to 8:30, local chefs will serve delicious items using local ingredients. We’re talking produce from James Ranch, Moroccan beef from Durangourmet, Chuck Norton’s famous bread pudding, treats from locally grown apples prepared by Kennebec Café and lots more.

You get the picture. You’re supporting local restaurants, small farmers and the Community Foundation – a group that does a ton of good behind the scenes.

Wine and beer is included with entertainment provided by Tim Sullivan & the Narrow Gauge Band.

The shindig takes place at Blue Lake Ranch in Hesperus. Tickets are $75 and worth every penny. Call the foundation at 375-5807 to reserve your spot.

Briggen Wrinkle, the foundation’s executive director, assures that absolutely no prairie dogs will be served.

“The only wildlife will be those who are two-stepping on the dance floor,” she said.

Action Line will be a guest bartender, with Mrs. Action Line supervising. Because someone has to be in charge.

So, if you are plagued by questions, we’ll chat. And you don’t have to put on the dog because it’s a casual event.

Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you put half-and-half in your coffee to celebrate today’s autumnal equinox.



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