Posted on 10/22/2016 11:32:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Bobcat sightings are not uncommon in North Texas. Viewers send in a few photos to NBC 5 every week.
However, we rarely hear about a person being attacked by a bobcat.
A Plano man says he had to fight off a bobcat while he was walking his dog at Hoblitzelle Park near Alma and Legacy drives.
“I guess right after is when I sat back and was like 'okay, I just fought a bobcat. That was interesting,'” said Logan Ortolf.
Ortolf says his 10-month-old Blue Heeler mix named Harley was off the leash at the park when the encounter happened.
The pair was walking along a creek at about 8:30 Monday night when Harley started barking uncontrollably at what turned out to be a bobcat in the bushes.
“It was about as big as her,” Ortolf said.
Worried Harley would become the bobcat's next meal, Ortorf says he stepped between the two animals.
“It jumped on her and I grabbed it by the back of the neck and tried to throw it into the woods, but it kind of latched onto my arm,” he said.
The entire encounter, Ortolf says, lasted five seconds.
“I had her by the neck and I kind of grabbed her by the back of the tail and flung it into a tree and then it ran off,” he said.
Photos show Ortolf's bloody forearm covered in claw marks. The injuries landed him in the emergency room.
“They gave me a bunch of shots as a precaution. I got 30 plus rabies sticks,” he said.
The wounds aren't stopping the pair from exploring their favorite park.
But Ortolf says Harley's days of playing off the leash are over.
“She'll stay on the leash from now on for sure or anywhere other than the dog park,” he said.
Animal experts say bobcat attacks are extremely rare.
Keeping your pet on a leash is the key to avoiding a bobcat encounter, according to Marcus Stephens with 911 Wildlife, a Plano-based company specializing in humane animal removal. Stephens answers questions on the minds of many pet owners here.
I thought this was going to be about Billy Joel too.
Still a little bleary eyed this morning myself...first thing I saw too. Finding your comment made me crack up
“Not really. The bobcat first latched onto his dog, then he grabbed it.
That is not what I read. From the article:
“Worried Harley would become the bobcat’s next meal, Ortorf says he stepped between the two animals.”
“It jumped on her and I grabbed it by the back of the neck and tried to throw it into the woods, but it kind of latched onto my arm,” he said.
You are correct!
Funny how the mind works. I need coffee!
I read that as “I jumped on her, and ...
Totally zoned out the t on the It...
Have to laugh at myself, sometimes..
We have a fair number of bobcats roaming around here in Plano... once or twice a year I typically find parts of an eviscerated rabbit scattered around the yard.
In Plano, a densely populated city with small lot sizes of over a quarter of a million folks, surrounded by suburbia. Bobcat country can be a front or back yard.
Here’s a guy that has his backyard mostly taken up by a swimming pool and he has 5 that think the fenced area makes a safe place. http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/collin-county/plano-family-grows-concerned-as-baby-bobcats-in-backyard-get-bigger/327065995
With a wet year, the population has expanded.
Our bobcats out here on the river are timid; but I don’t
want to tangle with one of them and won’t on purpose. I
used to walk down in the bottoms; but don’t any more since
we got a male neighbor a few years ago who liked to run
down the hill and engage me in conversation when I was out
for a walk. He & his wife moved about a year ago.
Gosh, wouldn’t a carry permit and gun be cheaper and better than emergency room bills and rabies shots?
Few months ago I got attacked by a feral dog going to my clothesline after dark. Fortunately I had the Governor in my pocket loaded up with bird shot. No emergency room, no scratches. I do hear bobcat yowls or screeches, don’t know proper term, when sitting out on the screened in porch some nights.
True statement
Raccoons would work too.
You rarely hear about it because a Bobcat will only attack if cornered. Probably rabid.
Mr. GG2 shined the flashlight on a Bobcat by my garden the other night. Our Chihuahua was barking it up from the deck. Good thing we always walk out with her at night.
lol!
About 10 yrs ago, here in SW PA had a dog attacked by one which followed the dog into the house and attacked a woman. Turns out there was a whole clan on the mountain behind her house and they all had rabies.
You were probably talking to Davy whose still in the Navy, or a real estate novelist, or something like that :)
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