Dog returns home after being snatched by bird

[kpete]

.................
Dog lovers will understand why Elizabeth Todd cradles her chihuahua "Poppy" like a baby.

Her 9-year-old son Tim was there. He remembers hearing something awful.

"It was a terrible yelp," said Tim. "Real loud and we heard wings flapping and we looked back and Poppy was flying right up there."

Some kind of large bird had picked up the three-pound chihuahua.

.................

After a night of tossing and turning, relief showed up right at the front door as Elizabeth's dad was leaving for work. It was Poppy, running to Elizabeth's arms.

more plus video:
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/national/BO137646/

[FarCenter]

1. Police issue lock-up-your-chihuahuas killer owl warning

European flying beast threatens Wiltshire

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/12/escaped_owl/

[DavidDvorkin]

7. Two meter wingspan

and one meter tall! That's a big owl.

[RockaFowler]

2. This is one of my worst nightmares

There are so many hawks around here and my dachshunds are so fearless that they think they can get the hawks. I am so glad that the little guy is back home. Wow!! Amazing that he survived.

[bullimiami]

6. here too. we have 3 doxies.

one of them only 7 lbs.
i hope she is too big for the hawks to bother but
im not sure of it. they are bigger than she is.

[RubyDuby in GA]

15. My mini doxie tried to take on a huge boxer today that had the nerve to come into his yard.

My Rusty is 13 years old and he was not having some whippersnapper intruder coming into his lawn. It just about gave me a heart attack and then to top it off I was the one to have to chase the boxer and his other big friend out of our yard.

Don't you just love the little Napoleon's?? :)

[roguevalley]

27. little dogs get carted off around here by eagles a lot. also owls.

my dachsies are now too big but I worried forever until they grew. My niece has one, Daisy, that is a runt and weighs about three pounds. Imagine a dog standing on your hand and you have her. I fret over her too. I guess the bird just couldn't hold him all the way and dropped him. Poor widdow baby. :*(

[SpiralHawk]

3. Bird dogging? or Dog birding? You decide.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. freaky

[Quantess]

30. That's disturbing.

[CatWoman]

31. you need your ass kicked for that

:rofl:

[KingFlorez]

4. Dognapped by a bird

[jody]

5. I believe a similar event occurred several years ago in a major city, possibly a falcon was the bird

[nashville_brook]

8. this happens all the time - i've seen reminders at our vet's office that say

to consider the danger of this for the smallest dogs who have access to the backyard via a doggie door. our dogs are 16 and 19 pounds -- way outside of the range. but, there's a little tiny pom and two chi's down the street that i worry about. we live right on conservation that's a major habitat for owls, hawks and the occasional eagle.

[yankeepants]

10. Kitty airlift

My cat Large Marge, a big calico, was airlifted at night by a Great Horned Owl (GHO). We live in the country and Marge was accustomed to hunting at night in the field. She has a small white patch over her shoulders that at night might appear from over head to be a prey item.

Anyhow, our dog was very upset in the AM and led us to look under the porch. We found Marge with huge puncture wounds in her shoulders. It was confirmed that they were most likely where a GHO tried to pick a little mousey up but got a 20 lbs cat instead.

She recovered and is still with us at 16 years old but not so large anymore.

[truedelphi]

16. Great story. Glad that she survived.

And welcome to DU.

[yankeepants]

26. Thanks

I like it here

[ddeclue]

25. I bet the owl didn't get away unscathed either.

[madmax]

11. I've been worried about my Yorkie

Maxx is only 5 lbs. I've seen some large eagles and falcons overhead. I'm going to keep a close eye on my fur baby when he's outside. This article made me realize that what I thought 'could' happen, does.

Maxx and I thank you kpete :hug:

[xchrom]

12. I know a schnauzer that was attacked by a red tail

In Berkeley.

[sandyj999]

13. My 2 1/2 pound chihuahua Gracie is never out because we do have a hawk that comes around. n/t

[slampoet]

14. I'm having a flashback to the pug Bandit on JOHNNY QUEST.

[Cetacea]

17. "Poppy", flying dogs, nightmares...sounds like an old movie

Most likely a red-tail hawk. Scary.

[Cleita]

18. I used to have to lock up my kitties when we lived up north because there

were bald eagles nesting up in one of the trees, however, the eagles seemed to have more interest in getting fish out of the lake we lived by. However, I did see one snatch a possum one time but it was too heavy for the bird to fly very high, maybe that's how Poppy got out of its clutches.

[The Midway Rebel]

19. Yup. GHO nearly carted away our Calico Tabby.

Talon cut marks on her back and shoulders and a big beak shaped hunk of flesh taken from her rib cage.

RIP Useless the cat.

[Neecy]

20. When my dogs go out, I'm out there with them

I have Pomeranians and the smallest is around 4 pounds. I live in an area with a lot of hawks and I just don't take the chance of letting them outside unless I'm with them.

One tip: Put a couple of small mirrors in your yard. On sunny days they'll detract hawks. On cloudy days they're useless, but every little bit helps. Also avoid having a bird feeder - small birds will attract hawks.

[Fire1]

21. What a happy ending! n/t

[northofdenali]

22. Had a similar one in Homer a few years back -

A tourist with motorhome had parked near the harbor. Dog was loose (a rat on steriods...uh, a chihuahua). Eagle got dog. End of dog.

Tourist's husband's comment: :rofl: He didn't much like the dog.

New rule: Remember your surroundings!!

[roguevalley]

28. I remember someone laughing at a woman at Girdwood getting

gas when her little dog got taken. She was shrieking and crying. I think I would have pole axed the bastard laughing.

[northofdenali]

29. I almost did, rv, but I was on the motorcycle

and only carrying a 9. Way out of the way (bear country).

It's a documented (Homer newspaper) event.

He could not have saved the dog. It was a bald eagle, you know how they are.

[rcrush]

23. Little dogs have sharp teeth. I'm sure that dog gave that bird some shit.

[Raine]

24. Thank goodness the little one

returned home, a nice ending. :-)