Stay Alert
My friend has 3 little dogs. This is the friend who takes care of my horses at her barn. They live west of Paso Robles in an area with vineyards and lots of open fields. It's lovely, but it's a haven for coyotes and at times mountain lions. This year, with the drought, lots of predators are making their way closer to ranches and homes in search of water and food.
About two weeks ago, she heard the dogs barking down below the house where they have a tennis court and walnut orchard. She ran outside and saw one of her dogs confronting a mountain lion who was near another dog. Keep in mind, these are 10-15 pound dogs. She started yelling, the mountain lion ran off, and just then a coyote slipped in and grabbed the third dog. Joey is a Yorkie, very brave but not very big. Panic! She got in her truck and raced down the hill, chasing through the orchard after the coyote, honking her horn and swerving between the trees. He was not giving up the meal he had found. But she kept going, driving like a wild woman, and fortunately he dropped Joey just before heading up the hill toward the vineyards. Her other two dogs were chasing behind the truck. She grabbed Joey, took the others up to the house, and headed to the emergency vet.
Joey had no broken bones and no puncture wounds that had to be sutured. He was badly bruised and stayed at the vet on IV pain meds for a couple days. He is healed up now and recently brought a bird into the house that he had killed and half eaten. Needless to say, the dogs are a bit more confined.
This is Jackson, the one who confronted the lion. She later found a small puncture wound on Jillie, the female dog. So apparently the lion took a swipe at her before Jackson stepped in to defend the pack.
Can you imagine??? So many little dogs and cats are taken by coyotes and never seen again.
Stay alert!!
The coyotes also hang around the creek bed down by the barn, so today three donkeys are coming to live in that area of the property. She also has a pistol just in case. Of course she'd rather not be shooting at animals who are just surviving and looking for food, but hopefully shooting in their direction will be enough to scare them away so no killing is necessary.
About two weeks ago, she heard the dogs barking down below the house where they have a tennis court and walnut orchard. She ran outside and saw one of her dogs confronting a mountain lion who was near another dog. Keep in mind, these are 10-15 pound dogs. She started yelling, the mountain lion ran off, and just then a coyote slipped in and grabbed the third dog. Joey is a Yorkie, very brave but not very big. Panic! She got in her truck and raced down the hill, chasing through the orchard after the coyote, honking her horn and swerving between the trees. He was not giving up the meal he had found. But she kept going, driving like a wild woman, and fortunately he dropped Joey just before heading up the hill toward the vineyards. Her other two dogs were chasing behind the truck. She grabbed Joey, took the others up to the house, and headed to the emergency vet.
Joey had no broken bones and no puncture wounds that had to be sutured. He was badly bruised and stayed at the vet on IV pain meds for a couple days. He is healed up now and recently brought a bird into the house that he had killed and half eaten. Needless to say, the dogs are a bit more confined.
This is Jackson, the one who confronted the lion. She later found a small puncture wound on Jillie, the female dog. So apparently the lion took a swipe at her before Jackson stepped in to defend the pack.
Can you imagine??? So many little dogs and cats are taken by coyotes and never seen again.
Stay alert!!
The coyotes also hang around the creek bed down by the barn, so today three donkeys are coming to live in that area of the property. She also has a pistol just in case. Of course she'd rather not be shooting at animals who are just surviving and looking for food, but hopefully shooting in their direction will be enough to scare them away so no killing is necessary.
Comments
Glad everyone was ok - scary event none-the-less.
I don't even know what to say except it makes me want to do anything to protect my dog or others.
I would get a gun to scare of the predators . . .
I fret about our little ten pound bit of fluff . . . We seldom let her off her leash . . . once while walking and on her leash, she was attacked by a Great Dane who broke from his leash. Snickers was almost killed. Spent time in emergency . . . traumatized, puncture wounds. It changed her personality.
I digress . . . Thank you for this post . . . I am alerted!
We lost our siamese cat two summers ago - fairly certain he was taken by a coyote. It is a terrible feeling to lose a pet that way and I am glad Joey is OK.