Red Car Property: Where's A Hawk When You Need One?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 19, 2015.  I believe this is a small gopher trying to threaten my dog on the Red Car Property, behind Rose Scharlin Nursery School.  (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

While walking just before dark, I noticed a strangely shaped rodent running back & forth across the Red Car Property in a panic. It was about 3-4" long.  At a distance, I couldn't tell what it was, but thought it might be an escaped hamster from Rose Scharlin. While it was running, it was very flat to the ground.  So I stopped quite a ways back to take photos.  I didn't want to spook it, if it was an escaped pet.  Once I zoomed in, I could tell it was definitely not a hamster.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 19, 2015.  It was not a hamster:  round head, little eyes & longer tail.  It must have gotten away from a cat. I've never seen a a gopher run around above ground.  It probably could not find its way back to a tunnel.

I let it go about its panicked runaround, hoping a hawk would spot it next.