• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Mountain Lion Snatches Dog From Owners' Bedroom

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +
Aug 5, 2008 6:44 pm US/Mountain

Mountain Lion Snatches Dog From Owners' Bedroom

Written by Paul Day
Reporting
Paul Day
IDLEDALE, Colo. (CBS4) ― State Wildlife Officers captured and killed a 140 pound mountain lion after it's believed to have snatched a dog from the bedroom of a foothills home.

"It was going after dogs and not afraid of people," said Jacquie Anderson, owner of Scout, the dog killed in the attack.

Scout was a 12-year-old female Labrador retriever.

Jacquie and her husband, Mack, had opened the doors to their fenced patio before going to bed Sunday night. They wanted a cool breeze on the hot night. Scout and another family lab, Sam, were sleeping at the foot of the bed. Around 4:30 a.m., there was a commotion which awakened the couple.

"So she jumped out and ran to the foot of the bed," Mack said.

Jacquie recognized another big animal had entered the room then blurted, "It's a mountain lion!"

She believes the sound of her voice is what caused the cat to bolt back through the open patio doors with the 75-pound lab in its jaws.

Mack said he grabbed his shotgun and flashlight but the lion was gone. They then called for help and state wildlife officers, together with a Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy, did a perimeter search. They found Scout's body on a nearby hill covered in leaves with its neck broken.

Officers got permission from the Andersons to use the dog's body as bait. Knowing lions commonly return to a buried kill, they setup a trap. On Tuesday, a large, 3-year-old male mountain lion was captured and destroyed.

Jennifer Churchill, Spokeswoman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, said officers are convinced the 140-pound lion snatched Scout.

"She was a wonderful dog; peaceful," Jacquie said.

The Andersons said they are amazed their dogs never sounded the alarm. Neither Scout nor Sam ever barked before the attack.

The Andersons have lived in Idledale more than 30 years and say they're still comfortable with wildlife.

"I love mountain lions and hated to see it have to be killed but it was becoming a pretty scary thing to have in the neighborhood," Mack said.

Mack said they will make one change and keep their doors closed.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Weird News

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Pets/Animals

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Television Stations Inc. All Rights Reserved.