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A woman in Glendale, California experienced ever dog owner’s worst nightmare when a mountain lion ambushed her and her Shih Tzu on a walk. The puma stole away with the toy dog and it has not been seen in the days since.
Mountain lion attacks are exceedingly rare in the United States, especially attacks on humans, but when they do occur it is often a dog/pet that is the victim.
Mountain Lion Ambushes Dog In Los Angeles
The The Shih Tzu is an ancient dog breed from Tibet. It is believed they are the result of crossbreeding a Pekingese and Lhasa Apso. As a toy breed, they rarely weigh more than 15 to 17 pounds and stand taller than 10.5″.
Mountain lions commonly eat deer, elk, coyotes, raccoons, rabbits, and other rodents. A toy dog is a small meal for these large cats but unfortunately is also an easily attainable meal as these dogs are so tiny.
Laura McVay is a nurse practitioner in Glendale, California and was walking with her tiny brown Shih Tzu, Declan, on February 23rd. It was their usual walk so Declan could use the bathroom.
She said she felt a “whoosh” from behind her and that is when all hell broke loose. McVay said “I pulled his leash and started screaming. At that time I realized it was a mountain lion.”
In an attempt to save the dog’s life, she tried to make herself appear as large as possible and make loud noises. She even tugged on her dog’s leash to try and pull it away from the mountain lion but was unsuccessful.
It only took an instant, but the large cat then ran off with her dog. McVay said “I just saw the back of him, with his leash trailing behind him, and that was the last time I saw him.
Her story was picked up the local Los Angeles news outlets:
When speaking about her dog, McVay added “he was love and joy. It was so traumatic and so unexpected, and so scary.”
As a fellow dog owner, my heart aches for this person. The thought of a predator stealing away with my dog is the stuff of nightmares.
can’t help but wonder how this incident would have shaken out, if differently at all, if she had a large breed dog walking with the toy Shih Tzu. A relative of mine used to have a Great Dane and 5 Chihuahuas. Just a massive gaggle of dogs walking down the street together. No mountain lion would step to that posse.
My dog, a Great Pyrenees x Anatolian Shepherd mixed breed, weighs as much as a fully grown mountain lion but I’m not sure she’d be up for the fight against one of these large cats and its razor sharp claws. Scary stuff.