Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/mountain-lion-takes-dog-from-home/
A bold mountain lion in Sonoma County, California has been euthanized following a close call with a Santa Rosa family.
According to FOX2 KTVU, Rebecca Kracker was at home with her three dogs when she heard some commotion coming from the living room.
At first, she assumed that her 70lb border collie, Sherman, had fallen and hurt himself but when she walked into the living room, she was sickened by the sight.
A large mountain lion had walked into her home and was dragging Sherman by the neck!
Rebecca got on Facebook to talk about the incident, explaining that she was just 2-feet away from the mountain lion with her two other dogs, but it was completely unphased by her presence. Recognizing how dangerous the situation was, she closed the door between herself and two dogs, and the mountain lion and Sherman, who were outside by that point.
Kracker told FOX2 KTVU, “[The mountain lion] was bearing her teeth and hissing, and [Sherman] had passed out from shock. I thought he was dead at that point.”
Miraculously, Sherman ended up being ok. After a neighbor showed up and scared the mountain lion away, Rebecca was able to bring Sherman inside and found he was just fine, aside from a “small wound on his lip.”
She included a video of the mountain lion standing over her dog:
Rebecca met with a game warden and insisted the mountain lion be euthanized. A few days later, the animal was found and killed by a state-appointed trapper.
The mountain lion was later identified as 16-year-old P1, the first mountain lion to be fitted with a tracking collar as part of Audubon Canyon Ranch’s Living with Lions program.
Audubon Canyon Ranch released a statement on Facebook, saying, “…While we are saddened by this news, we believe that lethal removal of P1 was the right course of action.”
In their statement, they explained that the Living with Lions principal investigator, Dr. Quinton Martins, stated, “Clearly, something was wrong with P1.” Martins also noted that she was “very old” for a mountain lion, which could have led to her erratic behavior, along with slowed responses, weakened senses, and other health issues.
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
