"Mr Owl, how many licks does it take to got to the center of a chihuahua?"
Posted on 03/11/2010 2:43:15 AM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
(Fox News) - Most pet owners take steps to protect their animals. In Santa Rosa, California, Odessa Gunn worried a car or coyote might one day claim the lives of her dogs, which is why she and her husband, renowned American cyclist Levi Leipheimer, fenced in their property.
But Fox News reported Wednesday that they're mourning the loss of their beloved Chihuahua, Trooper, and nursing their other dog, Bandit, back to health. The attacker came from an unlikely place -- the sky.
Gunn had just let her dogs out into the backyard and was preparing to join them. She recalls, "in the time it took me to put my boots on, I heard what sounded like a really horrendous cat screeching noise. I thought it was a mountain lion or a bobcat or something."
In fact, it was a pair of Great Horned Owls, birds that typically eat rats and squirrels. On this recent night, the birds set their sites on larger prey. From out of the darkness, the two owls swooped down and attacked Trooper and Bandit, just feet away from where Gunn stood.
After a violent struggle, Bandit escaped, bloody and limping, but Trooper was carried off and hasn't been seen since. No fur. No blood. Nothing.
While there are really no good statistics on the frequency of such attacks, wildlife experts say they're rare but almost always lethal. In many ways, owls are the perfect predators; they approach without warning, and their razor-sharp talons can snatch a pooch or cat two to three times their own body weight.
Owl was in the mood for Mexican take out, I guess.
LOL
Happens a couple times a year in Alaska.
If you are visitng Haines or Seward, carry your mutt, otherwise you might just get to see an eagle up close and personal....
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