Posted on 11/30/2007 9:48:34 AM PST by jazusamo
DUARTE - An attack by a mountain lion that killed a homeowner's dog and wounded his other pet was "terrible" but not a public threat, state fish and game officials said Thursday.
"While the situation in Duarte was terrible, it was not a public threat," Harry Morse, a fish and game spokesman, said. "That mountain lion had moved on. It doesn't live in that backyard."
Even so, Duarte resident Jay Berger, 52, was mourning the death of Otis, a 12-year-old German shepherd Berger owned for 10 years.
"He was my best friend," he said.
Berger said he was away from his Cedarwood Avenue home Wednesday night when the attack occurred. He believes the mountain lion first attacked his other dog, Dexter, a 4-year-old shepherd. When Otis heard the noise, he ran outside to defend his friend, Berger believes.
When Berger returned home at 1 a.m. he found Dexter stunned and lying in a pool of blood on his driveway.
Berger had adopted Dexter five weeks ago from a woman who could no longer keep him.
"At first you couldn't get them within eight feet of each other," Berger said. "But after a few weeks, they were best pals."
He searched all night but couldn't find Otis. In the morning he found the dog on a hillside, under an oak tree, partially devoured. Berger has lived on Cedarwood 10 years and has seen bears, deer, coyotes, raccoons, foxes - all kinds of wildlife, "but I've never seen a mountain lion."
"My neighbor reported seeing one in the area all week," he said.
Rahim Zabihi, a veterinarian at the Duarte-Azusa Animal Hospital, where Dexter was being treated Thursday, said the dog was doing well and probably could go home Monday or Tuesday.
"These cats commonly attack the head and neck," he said. "The dog has puncture wounds, bites and scratches on its head and neck.
"The mountain lion has bacteria on its claws and in its mouth, so we're treating it with antibiotics to kill the pathogens. We're draining the wounds and have it on an IV, and we want to continue that treatment over the weekend."
Berger said employees from KCBS-Channel 2 offered to pay Dexter's medical bill. He also has received condolence calls from people all over the country.
When Dexter comes home, Berger said, he plans to keep his pet in sight. He plans to take Dexter to work with him because he is afraid to leave him alone.
He wants to adopt another German shepherd to keep Dexter company.
"They're the best dogs in the world," he said of the breed.
That cougar has lost it's fear of man and can just as easily come back to a backyard. Hopefully the next attack is not a person.
Cougar ping.
What a first class jerk this Fish and Game Klimer is.
This is what our hunting and fishing license buy for us.
Thanks for the ping.
The mountain lion will be back for another easy meal...soon.
I was raised in the adjacent city and spent many days and hours in those mountains without ever seeing a cougar or bear. There were no incidents like this that I can remember but for the last several years Monrovia, Bradbury, Duarte and Azusa has had many sightings in the cities. Of course back then it was legal to hunt cougar and bear.
“Of course back then it was legal to hunt cougar and bear.”
This is the key to controlling predators. When we make them loveale totems, we are asking for these attacks.
The rule of 3 S’s
These DNR people are insane. OF course a mountain lion who considers hunting area in an area people are living in is a public threat.
The guy’s going to have thousands of dollars of med bills for his surviving dog. These same people who say mountain lions hunting in settled areas aren’t a public threat would prosecute the guy mercilessly if he killed the damn thing saving his dog’s life, much less his own. “Nope, you should have let the mountain lion kill you”, they’d say. “It would be much less painful than what WE’RE going to do to you now.”
Friggin’ absolutely out of damn touch gubmint shill.
I couldn't agree more! Over forty years ago I knew the game warden well in that area, a finer person you would never meet. He would be turning over in his grave upon hearing this remark from that spokesman.
Yeah, right. That's right up there with, "There are no American Troops in Baghdad!"
I’ll assume there would be some sort of penalty for killing a cougar in CA. I say shoot, shovel, and shut-up.
I’d like to see the mountain lion return and attack Harry Morse, the spokesman for the Fish and Game Department.
Young male lions still establishing their territory often get pushed out by older lions, and they tend to find themselves “in the wrong place and the wrong time,” Morse said.
“The younger ones tend to be on the move, they tend to get into trouble,”
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20071129-1846-wst-mountainlions.html
Thanks for the link, George.
This Morse turkey is staying pretty busy lately telling everyone these cougars are not a threat. I wonder what he’ll say when a person is attacked by one of these that are supposedly no threat?
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