I am marked...

Yesterday was another slow day for me, as long as dogs were concerned...moving on to today:

Started out slowly enough, ground squirrels raiding my traps, trying to get in my traps, staring at me as I stared at them in frustration (although while trying not to laugh). My colony area was overrun with them..until a prairie falcon flew low, and I watched them all have simultaneous heart attacks as they dove for various burrows. It was hilarious, and I was ground squirrel free for the next 30 min...

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, mainly with me thinking I saw a pd (prairie dog), and having it actually be a gs (ground squirrel). At the end of the day, we caught both an unmarked dog, and 21, who we took anyhow to darken his number. The unmarked one was started first, beginning with ear tags ...they have the tiniest numbers imaginable on them. The technique for putting them in is slightly hilarious; it involves the dogs head sticking out of the bag, with one person holding it behind the mandibles and at the rump, while the other takes a clip, and snaps the ear tags in, where they look like shiny earrings. The dog was not pleased, and grumbled, and frothed at the nose. Afterwards, we checked his sexual status (young upstart), fleas (three), body weight (low), scars (none), and then marked him..he will be 03.
The marking process, as shown in previous pics, is straightforward, with the dogs head in the bag, and the assistant holding it directly behind the mandibles, and mid-belly, also holding the front legs in..my cat holding days came back to me as I took up the position. As John painted, 03 resigned himself to his fate, and stopped struggling. Not so for 21 and his touch-up. He grunted, spasmodically flung himself about, and generally tried to squirm his way out of my grasp; he failed but due to his impatience, I am now also marked, on both hands..although no specific number...