Mountain lions to people: "We will eat your dog for sport"

If you've ever pined for life in a mountain town, with easy access to peaks without all the traffic, now's a good time to reconsider the negatives -- like watching your pet dog get snarfed in front of your eyes. The Butts family (seriously) of Green Mountain Falls got a...

By Ted Alvarez

January 21, 2010

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If you've ever pined for life in a mountain town, with easy access to peaks without all the traffic, now's a good time to reconsider the negatives -- like watching your pet dog get snarfed in front of your eyes.

The Butts family (seriously) of Green Mountain Falls got a terrifying wildlife wake-up call Thursday evening when not one but two mountain lions snatched the family dog while the family watched a mere 30 feet away. Eeep.

Apparently, a mother used 15-pound Scamp (again, seriously) as hunting practice for her cub; she watched on as the young cougar hauled the struggling dog up a nearby hill in less than a minute. The family attempted to throw firewood to scare the animals off, but that worked about as well as you'd guess.

Mountain lion sightings have gone up in the Ute Pass area, and wildlife
officials and law enforcement are warning residents to keep an eye on
kids and pets lest they become Fancy Feast.

"We moved into their country. We weren't ignorant to the
fact there were mountain lions around," Butts said Friday. "Bears are
around. Mountain lions are around. It is a danger of living in this
area."

"Obviously we never envisioned it as a reality for us."

Worst of all, the family says Scamp "seemed paranoid" lately. Guess we know why now. He's probably glad the waiting's over.

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