A cougar killed her dog and dropped it at her feet
VERNON – A Vernon family is readjusting to life without their beloved family dog after he was killed by a cougar in their backyard.
Milton, a six-year-old Chihuahua/Maltese, was let out to play as usual the morning of Sept. 21 in the backyard of the family’s McLennan Road property in the BX area of Vernon. But when he didn’t come back when he was called, his owners went out looking for him on the acreage, covering ground on a quad, getting more and more worried as the hours passed.
“We just wanted to find him,” says the woman, who asked for anonymity to preserve her privacy.
When she did find him, he was much closer than she expected. She was home alone, hours after Milton first went missing and from where she sat in her yard, she could hear branches cracking in a nearby tree and followed the sound.
“That’s when Milton fell out of the tree," she says. "His head was gone. It felt like a Stephen King novel—I thought, this can’t be happening. It was gruesome.”
And it got worse. When she looked up to where Milton fell from, she saw an 80-pound cougar in the branches.
“He was just lounging there, his tail was wagging the whole time,” she says. “I freaked out and screamed. It was such a loud shriek the neighbours came over thinking something bad was going on.”
She backed away—leaving her dead dog’s body where it fell—and contacted the conservation service. Officers didn’t waste any time upon arrival; the cougar—still up in the tree—was shot within 15 minutes. According to the conservation service, the one to two year-old cougar couldn't be relocated because he'd already learned to target household pets.
“I feel bad the cat had to be put down. It’s a controversial subject, and I didn’t love it either,” the woman says. “I prefer things get relocated, but when you think about it, he would have done it again.”
Milton was buried in the yard alongside other lost pets, most of which died of old age and one which was killed by a pack of coyotes.
“We’ve all cried. We still miss Milton every day,” the woman says. “That dog had such a strong sense… it’s like he looked after me, always following me around. He looked after us.”
Two days later, a pair of cougars stalking pets in the same general area were also put down. A fourth cougar is believed to still be in the neighbourhood, and residents are advised to keep a close eye on pets and report any sightings to the conservation service.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
Join the Conversation!
Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community? Create a free account to comment on stories, ask questions, and join meaningful discussions on our new site.
5 responses
-
In the wild, territory is constantly being challenged.They attack and kill each other as well, even going so far as to kill babies of their own species.So your comment, while warm and fuzzy, makes no sense.I grew up with a family of hunters and butchers and didn’t eat meat (except wieners which I was pretty sure grew on wiener trees) until I was well into my 20s, but I’ve gradually realized that animals are animals and they (and we) sometimes do horrible things to survive and protect ourselves, our homes and our families.I know what you’re trying to say, and I agree that the whole thing is sad, and honestly, I’d rather we all lived in harmony too.I’d also rather cougars didn’t eat fawns while they were still alive and rip the heads off of tiny poodles.I’d rather Grizzlies didn’t attack children and elderly women gardening at their homes, but at the end of the day, we are ALL animals and we ALL will do what we have to in order to protect our families and territory.If a cougar tries to kill me or someone I love, I don’t care where it happens, I will try to kill that cougar right back.
-
-
I..and my Chihuahua live very close to where it all happened. I can see the property from where I live and we are not all that rural. 5 min. from downtown Vernon. I was warned to stay indoors and keep my pet inside. Then I heard the cat had to be shot. I too hate that it had to be that way, but quite frankly, it was very scary and I breathed a sigh of relief. Cats don’t just go for pets or livestock, they also go after people occasionally. Especially wee ones. I can’t jump on the bandwagon and berate people for settling somewhere rural that “belonged” to the cougar and in a sick way blame them for being where they are. That kind of thinking is starkly insensitive, doesn’t solve anything, or help the cougars. Over the years when these encounters happen, there is always one or two who put forth such weak reasoning like we didn’t all know that our country was once one vast wilderness from shore to shore. Like, say something a tad more thoughtful that will contribute to making things better given what life and the situation is actually LIKE, not (in this case) some lame and hurtful finger-pointing that solves nothing and never will.I am very sorry for their loss of a beloved pet and equally sad about the cougar’s fate.
-
Sad for the cougar. We move in on there territory then it’s a tragedy when someone’s dog gets killed???
-
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.