Sometimes I read newspaper articles that just make me want to say, “Hmmm…”
Who knew toy chihuahuas were so fierce?
Mountain Lion Killed after Chihuahua Showdown
Desert Sun Wire Service
June 15, 2009
A mountain lion that got inside a family’s garage and squared off with three chihuahuas was shot and killed by a game warden as he tried to prod the animal into leaving the property, authorities said today.
“It became a public safety issue,” said Kyle Orr, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish & Game. “Wardens are trained for these situations and make decisions on a case-by-case basis. This animal acted aggressively and needed to be dispatched.”
The encounter with the cougar was reported Saturday morning at a home on San Ignacio Road in Sage, east of Temecula, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Amalee Spray, 23, said she was sleeping when she heard her three toy chihuahuas — 2-year-old Lina, and one-year-old pups Abby and Gita — barking outside around 9 a.m.
She said the dogs did not respond when she called them, so she went out to investigate — and saw the mountain lion in her garage, backed into a corner by the feisty chihuahuas.
“This thing was huge,” Spray said Sunday. “Really big. Full grown.”
The young mother, who is 5-foot-3, said the female cougar would have come up to her waist if she’d gone anywhere near it.
Lina, Abby and Gita refused to back off and continued barking and growling at the big cat, keeping it occupied, even after sheriff’s deputies arrived.
“When they saw the dogs they said, ‘These little things?’ When they saw the mountain lion their jaws dropped,” Spray said. “They radioed, ‘This is a full-size mountain lion and it is not happy to see us.’”
The animal became tired and stretched out in the garage, according to Spray.
She said after nearly 45 minutes, a Fish and Game warden arrived.
According to Orr, the officer tried to “haze” the cougar, shooting it several times with rubber bullets in an attempt to dislodge it from the garage and scare it away from the immediate area.
“The mountain lion exited the garage and began to move away from the home, but turned and crouched and advanced on the warden,” Orr said.
He said the officer blasted the cougar with a shotgun, killing it on the spot.
Orr did not comment on whether there was any consideration given to trying to tranquilize the animal.
A freelance news photographer attempted to speak with the officer moments after the shooting, but the warden left the scene without stopping, leading to some uncertainty, initially, about what had occurred. Orr said the warden took the animal with him and it will be disposed of later.
Spray said none of her dogs were hurt in the encounter. She said it was only the second time since moving to the remote location with her husband more than six years ago that she had seen a mountain lion.
“Mountain Lion Killed after Chihuahua Showdown.” The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, California). 15 Jun. 2009. <http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090615/NEWS10/90615015/-1/RSS01>
