In Dillon, Colorado, a mountain lion and a family dog rescued from the shelter about a year ago, were involved in a dangerous situation on Saturday evening.
According to the Summit Daily, it had been on Saturday, January 27, when Furgus, the 14-month-old Australian shepherd and black-mouth cur mix, had been sniffing out the voles (aka meadow mice) that dig tunnels in his yard. This time, however the canine hunter became the hunted; a mountain lion attacked Furgus and dragged him away.
The mountain lion was able to drag the dog across the Snake River, and the owners and helpful neighbors were able to track the location of their dog through the prints in the snow. The dog’s owner, Shannon Leach. fired a gun to scare the lion away, and Furgus was still alive, but seriously injured.
Shannon Leach fired a shot into the ground. But the mountain lion didn’t move, Shawne Leach said. So, he fired another shot, this time in the direction of the cat — sending the predator fleeing into the night.
Summit Daily
Fortunately, the dog had been wearing his reflective collar and was able to stand up, even though his eye had been hanging out of its socket, but other than bites and bruises, did not suffer from any neurological damage.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have searched for the mountain lion, but have had no success in tracking the animal. Their population size in Colorado is estimated to be between 3,800-4,400. The organization has since posted warnings reminding pet owners that Colorado is home to mountain lions, and that means special precautions need to be followed.
If you meet up with a mountain lion, make loud noises, bang pots and pans, set off the car alarm, and especially keep a close eye on pets and never leave them outside, even in your own backyard unattended. Most of all to mitigate the prevalence of mountain lions in your area, make sure all food sources are secured, and don’t even leave water out for wildlife.
Sadly, if wildlife is responsible for trespassing onto residential areas because food has been left out, which can cause major issues, it is the wildlife – perhaps the beautiful mountain lion that doesn’t like people anyway and are very shy near populated neighborhoods, will be euthanized just for following his own natural instincts.
Furgus has since been released from the veterinarian hospital and is getting accustomed to only having one eye, but he’s still wagging his tail and still sniffing the ground for those pesky voles.
(Photo via screenshot Summit Daily)
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