Poor baby Jade :'c How terrible!

That sucks...Sorry to hear that, what a lovely fish... I lost two favourite fish a few years ago to a heron, I now cover my pond with some 1/2" black plastic mesh ... herons can be so sneaky, now I know snakes are too... condolences > Ron

Wow thats a lot of snakes  ... I have had a few experiences with snakes, here in South Australia the snakes are all very dangerous and often lethel... our first dog my partner and I had (a kelpie) was killed by a snakebite, she died in my arms on the way to vets, It was one of the worst experiences of my life...  still hard to talk about, and I have had a few dogs since then... Also my fathers dog (another kelpie) was bitten by a snake at xmas time, we quickly noticed she wasn't right, got her to a vet in time, they gave her an anti-venom, she was lucky to survive it...
We were involved in founding and running a wildlife rescue group here for a while, and we found with snakes there is often an underlying reason they are there, it could be due to a lack of food in their natural environment (so they look for it in yours) or that they are there seeking the little creatures that live in and around our houses and yards (the ones we dont see)... Hope you can find a way to keep them at bay... keep us posted if you find a solution... cheers > Ron.

Oh my goodness, Ron, that's so heartbreaking to hear about your dog  so sorry about that, the loss of my goldfish doesn't seem half so tragic in that light. That must have been an awful experience; I couldn't even ever imagine how terrible that must have been! It's understandable that would be hard to talk about.

Fortunately around where I live in the states the snakes we have are mostly large gardener snakes of a gray or green color. They are not deadly to humans, but very deadly to fish as they swim extremely fast...

So far, the best solution has been to construct a large piece of screen, fixed to a framework of boards with a staple gun. This covering I put over the water and weigh down with heavy rocks...primitive, yes, but so far the snakes have been unable to get into the water.

Cats would be a deadly threat to koi, I would imagine, Nossie! It wouldn't do to be worried about your fish all the time, although those striking fish would look beautiful in a pond 

Definitely But, it'll be a very long time until I'll even afford my own backyard most likely, so I can calmly figure something out until then xD

Aww :/ I think I heard/read about that somewhere... you start wondering why people do that.

No prob, Ron. How true that is. Hmmm, that's weird...why would anybody do something like that, why not just give them back to the shop if you don't want them???

I do love watching the native wildlife we have around here. Our wildlife includes coyotes, bears, snakes, mountain lions...they are so majestic and make for a great place to live (if you don't happen to run into one directly). I just don't like when they infiltrate my fish domain. 

Wow, I never knew Kangaroos could be so vicious! We don't have any out here...but remind me not to threaten or surprise one   And Dingos... they sound alot like coyotes. The coyotes out here are usually pretty shy, but they do attack people occasionally if you happen to stumble upon a mother with pups. And of course, if your small dog or cat runs away, they're an instant meal. The bears are drawn to the garbage bins so they can get quite bold, but they typically lope off if you get close to one.

We do have a few wolves, but they're pretty rare where I live.  

And thank you! So do I! Will pass that on to them 

I love bears; they're incredibly beautiful as well as powerful. It is sad when they dig through trash, I agree...people are encouraged to purchase trash cans that are "bear proof." Bears usually only do that when food is scarce...most of the time they are contented to eat berries and small game. However, the smell of the remains of a BBQ or fish can be tantalizing.

It's especially sad when a neighbor's pet suddenly disappears, and makes you more aware of the fact that small animals need to be kept indoors or on leashes. 

I enjoyed the conversation as well.  Regards!

i no how you feel coz last night my mimi and tiki2 died DX

Wow thats creepy a cat just disappeering!

That's too bad, Nossie.  It's very common for that to happen out here to cats. Mine got got chased up the side of the house all the way to the roof by a bear, who eventually gave up...

Far out, I cant believe the amount of diversity among the wildlife that we all have to contend with at one time or another, reading down the page it is quite a list... yes it is sad when we lose our pets, our first cat Bandit went out and never came back  , I remember it was awful hard not knowing what happened to him... A Lynx Nossie, what a lovely creature they are... canibalistic as well... and Fantailer lets hope the Aligators STAY down the road by the bigger creek!!! And Goldiegirl, a bear chasing a cat up to the roof of your house, I have this mental image of the cat sitting up there tormenting the bear below... cheers all > Ron.