Dog doors and wildlife
Quote: Salida, CO - Fox31 KDVR reports of a dramatic mountain lion encounter on Thursday afternoon in Chaffee County. Around 4 pm, a malnourished mountain lion chased a small dog into the home of Michele Bese and her two young children. The lion entered the home through a doggie door leading to the outside yard. When the lion first entered the home, Michele was unable to tell if it was a coyote or a mountain lion. She made the mountain lion determination after one of her 5 dogs confronted the animal. Michele was able to secure her children in a bedroom and dial 911. Deputies arrived to the house and were able to get Michele and her children out through a window. Meanwhile, officials attempted to lure the mountain lion out of the home. When the lion would not leave, wildlife authorities shot it with a tranquilizer gun. A search of the house turned up 4 of the 5 family dogs. Those 4 dogs were transported to a veterinary clinic where one died from wounds sustained from the mountain lion encounter. Two other dog suffered serious injuries. A secondary search of the family home turned up the 5th dog who had been hiding. Authorities eventually ended up euthanizing the mountain lion. The young male weighed only 40 lbs, significantly under the 60 lbs that a lion of his age should weigh. Perhaps his hunger is what lead him to make such a bold move into a house full of people and dogs. Pet owners in rural areas, or those living in developments which border greenbelts or other forested lands should take note from this traumatic story. Housing developments are spilling over into wildlife areas, pushing the animals into smaller and smaller spaces. Human/wildlife encounters are on the rise. A local Western Washington news station reported just this morning about the high number of coyotes in the greater Seattle area. Encounters with the coyotes are on the rise. Several stories have also been reported in the past year about the increase of raccoons in neighborhood yards. As the line between natural, wildlife areas continues to blur with residential housing areas, pet owners will need to become more vigilant. Cats and small dogs left unattended in yards are easy prey to a hungry coyote, mountain lion, or even raccoon. Dog-doors are wonderful for allowing in/out privileges to pets, but owners should be aware that wildlife can enter the home too. You can purchase electronic dog-doors that open only for your pet(s) who are fitted with a special collar. _ |
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| That is so scary! Wild animals do unfortunately think of our pets as prey when their food sources are limited. |
We have coyotes in our area. And hawks if you have little dogs. We have a yorkie and when we leave town with housesitters here, my husband actually uses bird proof netting over the dog run.  |
| A little over fifteen years ago my first sheepie, BRANDON went out in our teeny tiny backyard. I could see him through the window but wasn't watching all that carefully. I opened the door to call him back in a few minutes later and saw him sitting, looking intently at the fence (a six foot one) while a bald eagle sat on the fence looking intently back at him. I froze. Then I composed myself and shrieked. The eagle flew away (incidentally, it was a spectacular sight), and BRANDON happily walked back in. I've no idea if anything would have happened. He was over a hundred and ten pounds at the time, but I know the eagle wasn't on the fence when I let him out so he must have stopped by to at least think about a snack. Probably he was trying to decide if it was worth risking the hernia.  There's no doubt in my mind that if I'd had a small dog I would have lost him that day. I haven't thought about that in a long time, and have since moved halfway across the country (I was in BC then) but there is a bald eagle living in the park across the river from us. I've watched it through my telescope. Just goes to show you can never be one hundred percent certain. My heart goes out to the family from the initial post. How awful for them. |
| Friend lost her Yorkie to a coyote or bird. Minor snack. Friends found the remains a block away on the golf fairway. Friend was so distraught she refused to go on a prepaid cruise a week later. The bird netting would be mandatory where there are hawks, eagles or coyotes.....badgers, mountain lions.....sigh. Maybe that's why I prefer a very large dog. Haven't heard our resident coyote pack lately, maybe that's why the cranes wintered so close by this winter. |
| Our neighborhood watch has reported a coyote in the area. Thankfully my cats are indoor cats, and the coyote is supposedly considerably smaller than Tonks and Luna |
Oh my gosh  That was a horribly sad story.We worry about bears, wolves and moose here. Scarier than all of those put together, are wolverines, but luckily we have only seen one on our property ever, and that was years ago. Bears are very common here, both brown and black, but usually mind their own business. Wolves will take even large dogs if they are hungry enough, so we really watch out for them. Lots and lots of eagles (the little town we live near is called "Eagle River"...for a reason!) but they wont mess with a sheepie. This is one reason we don't have a small dog!! One of my biggest fears (I could almost join the embarrassing fear conversation on a different thread with it  ) is a bear coming in through an open window. No matter how hot it gets in the summer, I'm always closing windows because of that worry  |
| Coyote is a better fighter. If it is truly just one (cat--remove this word) then maybe the dynamic duo is just not worth the effort. But when there are several coyotes, they work as a team to separate and destroy. Be aware. |
SheepieBoss wrote: Coyote is a better fighter. If it is truly just one cat then maybe the dynamic duo is just not worth the effort. But when there are several coyotes, they work as a team to separate and destroy. Be aware. Yes they do. We have a large coyote population around us. |
| I was raised in Grosse Pointe, MI for the majority of my life. We lived six blocks from Detroit on one side and a block on the other. So the only wildlife we ever saw was squirrels and once in a great while an Opossum. Since moving to the Quad Cities, there are a TON of wild life. Huge turtles on the side of the road, eagles that glide across the Mississippi, etc. The biggest problem we have is with Raccoons. Behind my house is a quarter acre of trees before you get to the trucking company beyond that. You can see raccoons skirting along the trees at night and we have more than a few that get into our garbage cans. Every once in a while a big, fat raccoon (must be our garbage picker) saunters into our backyard and my dogs go crazy. I'd love to have a doggie door for my dogs but I'd be afraid at all the raccoons that would bring their luggage with them. |
| You'd need a doggie door with the electronic opener that your pups would wear. That doesn't mean a fast acting 'coon couldn't follow. I'm with you, I'll continue to be the door guardian. How lovely with the eagles, but I do get sand hill cranes down the road along with Canadian geese......so plenty of big birds about in winter. |
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