Prairie dog towns are actually really cool places. I did a lot of wildlife research in p.d. towns, including live trapping p-dogs to check for sylvatic plague, black-footed ferret trapping and releases, burrowing owls, to name a few. I've handled well over a thousand live prairie dogs, and you can do it safely with a few minor precautions. We even anesthetized p-dogs and removed the fleas to check for plague, as part of a M.S. research project. Their towns are pretty amazing for the number of other species that use their habitat. I love those places; I just remain cautious with my hunting dog.
