The same could also be said of otters - and I met two lovely otterhounds yesterday (though, of course, up to recently they were used to hunt mink - poor breed, having its job constantly taken away!).

Hunting has always been divided into Beasts of Venery (things you can eat) and Beasts of the Chace (vermin) so it's no surprise that the American settlers used their hunting dogs to get rid of the most readily available vermin.