Doggy Coat Saves Chihuahua from Owl Attack

[The Straight Story]

Doggy Coat Saves Chihuahua from Owl Attack


CRYSTAL LAKE, IL -- Those cutsie clothes some people put on their pups aren't just fashion statements. A pint-sized coat may as well have been a life vest for a Chihuahua who survived an owl attack in Illinois.

George Kalomiris said he was taking 3-year-old Chico for a walk in Crystal Lake last week when a great horned owl swooped down and tried to pick up the dog.

"Good thing I had a hold of the leash," Kalomiris said. The owl dragged Chico and tried to lift him off the ground, but he was protected by a doggy coat from Kalomiris' wife.

"Thank God he had the coat," Kalomiris said. "Otherwise he might have been hurt."


http://www.11alive.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=173579&catid=166

[xchrom]

1. yeeesh -- that would have been scary. nt

[meow mix]

2. had hawks follow me and one of my smaller itialians a lot before

like over 20 times lol fuckin things. there were a couple of instances of swooping to.

i also noticed that even tiny birds would often go out of thier way to pick on him lol... fly out of no where and peck him on the back

[surrealAmerican]

4. Those tiny birds are probably swallows.

If your dog gets anywhere near their nests, they will try anything to get the dog's attention and lure him/her away from the area.

[Erose999]

5. Some of them will try to get hair from pets and even humans for their nests.

I've seen my cat get divebombed several times.

[meow mix]

10. yeah and the robins too

they get real nasty and attack people too lol the worst ones

[LWolf]

3. Was he walking at night?

I suspect my local great-horned owl to be behind the loss of 2 cats.

[Raschel]

6. Sorry for your loss. Owls are definitely vicious and are not afraid of people.

I've read that it's not a good idea to wear a pony tail while jogging or walking in wooded areas. They sometimes mistake it for an animal and will dive bomb. They can cause a lot of damage.

Here's a video of a guy checking a barred owl's nest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4n1l3zAp7w

[LWolf]

12. I still regret their loss.

They were feral kittens I found and took from their feral mom in the barn the year I moved here; it took me a year to catch, spay, and release all the feral cats. These kittens, though, I caught by hand. They were at that barely walking on shaky leg stage, so I was able to socialize them. They were very affectionate and loved to be with people, but they mastered the doggy door at a young age and wouldn't stay inside. They tested all the windows and doors, and pushed out screens when windows were left open for cool air in the summer. They were born in a barn. The big outdoors called to them. :(

My own cat, that moved in with me, goes outside. She hunts, although that's slowed down now that she's in the double-digit age range. She's super-cautious, though. I've watched her enough to know that she never, ever, exposes herself except for in broad daylight, and then only when I'm right there and she's decided to follow me to the barn. I wish there were a way to teach cats that kind of caution. Since I don't know how, if I ever get another cat, I'll need to figure out a way to keep them indoors, and still allow the dog out.

I like owls. I just wish they'd confine their hunts to the local rodent population. There are enough pack rats and rabbits to feed a flock of raptors.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

7. According to the good folks at the Tucson Desert Museum

An owl ate my dog is a myth. The largest horned owl weighs about 3 lbs and is only capable of lifting about 1lb. Which pretty much limits them to small prarie dogs, mice and lizards.
We just moved to Tucson in December and our Home is about a 9 iron from the Suguaro National Forest so we have lots of wild things as neighbors including wildcats, coyotes, feral pigs, scorpions, rattlesnakes and, of course owls. On our second night here, one of the neighbors came over and told us not to let our dogs out at night cause "the owls will get em". Well, needless to say, that scared the shit out of me so for about a week I took a shotgun with me every time I walked the dogs after sunset. However, one of the first things we did upon arriving was to join the Desert Museum and they provided us with a welcome packet that debunked a number of common myths, among them, rattlesnakes do not hibernate in the winter and the owl probably did not eat Fido. In fact, if anything ate Fido, it was more likely Coyotes.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on such matters but I am inclined to take the word of the Desert Museum folks because, after all, this IS what they do for a living.

[lonestarnot]

8. A shotgun? Scared? Poor owls.

[Raschel]

9. Go on You Tube and you'll find videos of eagles picking up foxes, etc.

There are also recent stories of small dogs being picked up or attacked by an owl. Great horned are known to take cats and fox.

Owls can and do eat rabbits and skunks. They attack with their talons and break the victim's neck with their beak.

[LWolf]

14. I have personally witnessed the local great-horned owl

take a hen right out of the part of my coop that is not roofed. A full-grown Buff-Orpington hen. The standard weight of an Orpington Hen is 8 lbs.

The incident happened at 4:30 A.M.; still dark, but the chickens are stirring, and I was passing the coop, on my way to the barn to feed horses. I feed early on work days. Most of the rest of the hens, and the rooster, were still on the roost; they were moving and talking, but this hen was first up, and she paid for it. The owl was landing on her when I approached the coop; it was in the nearest tree with her by the time I got there. The weight DID slow the owl down; it didn't go far, or high, before eating what it could and dropping the rest.

My cat weighs about 6 pounds. The Chihuahua breed standard for weight says, "A well balanced little dog not to exceed 6 pounds."

[Beacool]

11. Ahhhh, the poor little fellow.

He's so tiny!!! I'm glad that his coat protected him.

:o

[Iggo]

13. And another owl goes hungry.

Won't somebody think of the owls?!?!?!

[The Straight Story]

15. I throw em a puppy here and there....

:evilgrin:

[Enrique]

16. lol

:rofl: