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August 6, 2008
Mountain lion kills dog
This happened about 5 miles from my house, as the crow flies.
Mountain lion that seized dog is caught, killed
08/06/2008
IDLEDALE — Sunday night was hot — so hot that Scout slept on the floor at the foot of Mack and Jacquie Anderson's bed while Sam snoozed in a nearby chair.Scout, a 12-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, and her close buddy, Sam, a 3-year-old chocolate Lab — enjoyed the cool air flowing through the screenless, open French doors.
Sometime between 4 and 4:30 a.m., Jacquie Anderson heard a scuffling and got up to see whether Scout was having a seizure.
"I was a foot from something that was more than Scout," she said.
In the dark, she made out the shape and turned to Mack and said, "There's an animal in here. It's a mountain lion."
Her voice may have startled the mountain lion, which picked up Scout and ran.
The lion — a 130-pound male — ran through the yard and jumped a 6-foot fence with the 72-pound dog in his mouth.
Posted by Rob Kiser on August 6, 2008 at 9:05 AM
Comments
Who in their right mind leaves their doors open while they are sleeping in that area? There's Mountian Lions all over the place out there. It was an invitation to come look around and see if that lion could find a snack or meal. Like inviting someone to rob you. What's wrong with the dog(s) that no sounds were made or that they even woke up? WTF?
Posted by: Me Here on August 6, 2008 at 10:42 AM
I agree - letting the door open at night is more than stupid. Dogs obviously not acting like dogs, rather well fed humans.
Posted by: Jack on August 6, 2008 at 11:31 AM
It really infuriates me in such instances that they wind up capturing and killing the wild animal. Why???? I agree I would be devastated to have my dog killed in that manner, but the lion was only acting instinctively; hunting! Why did they need to "bait" the poor cat and kill it! I wish someone could explain that. It isn't as though there was some wildcat breaking into houses attacking the families; these folks had their door open!
Posted by: Elphie on August 6, 2008 at 1:56 PM
Well, actually, I've been sleeping with my doors open also. The reason is that it gets hot up here in the mountains occasionally, and since we don't have air conditioning, I try to open the house as much as I can. So, I open my sliding doors occasionally to let more air in. In that case, there's only the screen door. I suppose that a mountain lion or bear could come in the house, but it's not very likely. I'm much more at risk of having a motorcycle accident or getting hit by a woman driver in the snow than attacked by a mountain lion, IMHO. As for the dog, the lion pounced it and probably killed it instantly. They're pretty clever that way.
Posted by: Rob Kiser on August 7, 2008 at 2:56 PM