A recent Facebook post by a concerned Lubbock resident caught my eye. He gave details of a strange encounter he had with alleged prairie dog snatchers.

"So, there I am at a park in North Lubbock, longboarding with my dog. Like many parks in North Lubbock, this one has a prolific prairie dog population. I look in one of the fields, and there's a white truck with a trailer that has some unidentifiable machinery on it. One guy is out of the truck looking down the prairie dog holes while another idles the truck front. I guessed that maybe they're part of some low-budget department from TTU or the city."

What happened next what not at all what he expected:

"I watched them for a few minutes and just had to know. I go up and ask the guy walking behind the trailer, 'Y'all just checking up on the prairie dogs?' The man, who I realize has no department logo on his shirt, reaches his index finger up to his mouth to make the hush face and says, 'we're catching them.' I nodded and walked away, shocked. I've wrestled with this thought for the last two weeks. I'm not narcing but not exactly staying hush-hush. I'm bringing awareness to the community of a black market prairie dog ring that exists right under our noses."

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Are there people out there that actually steal and sell prairie dogs? Everything I've learned about prairie dogs has taught me that they actually make really terrible pets. I knew someone that tried to keep one as a pet and it was an absolute disaster. What's going on here?

If you've seen something like this happening in a Lubbock park, we'd like to know about it. Comment on our Facebook page.

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