Topos is the Spanish word for moles - the burrowing rodents that are more than plentiful around here. Matatopos is just a word I made up, but most Spaniards would know what it meant. The mata comes from matar which means to kill, slay, put to death, execute, murder or otherwise destroy. Mata can be used as a prefix in a lot of words - even those you make up. Our dog, Frodo, is a matatopos.

He's a Podenco breed known as a Portuguese Warren Hound. They're supposed to be rabbit hunters, according to some Internet websites I found on the subject. Local outdoorsmen tell us that since he has been "fixed" he wouldn't be any good for hunting anymore. Our local moles probably think otherwise.

Moles are plentiful in the fields next to us and way too many of them have migrated to our yard. It may not qualify as hunting, but Frodo has mounted a one-dog campaign to stamp'em out. He'll never succeed, though, because he's vastly outnumbered.

But he's taken it on himself to get rid of as many as possible. He goes after them nose first, digging his way along the tunnel paths. As a result, there are some areas of the yard that look like they've been carpet-bombed. And the dog ends up a muddy mess, as you can see in these pictures.

None of this would matter so much if Frodo didn't think he could come into the house that way. But we check him out before we let him in. Fortunately, for us and for him, he's fairly easy to clean and dry. He has coarse hair that almost seems like it was treated with Scotchgard. So a garden hose and an old towel are all that we need. Boy, does he ever hate being hosed off!