A local Jasper family is counting themselves lucky after their seven-year-old dog narrowly survived being attacked by a cougar, Jan. 15.
Dani Diduck and her husband Dale were getting the family ready to go skiing for the day when Dani heard their dog, Luna, barking in the backyard.
Concerned that something was amiss, she bolted to the back door to see what the commotion was all about.
鈥淚 ran as fast as I could, but the cougar already had her pinned,鈥� said Dani. 鈥淚 thought I was going to watch her get eaten.鈥�
Unsure what to do, she yelled to her husband, who ran out the back door and charged the cougar in his ski socks.
About a metre before he got to the animal, the cougar released the dog from its grip and climbed into a nearby tree.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 about to watch a cougar kill my dog,鈥� said Dale, who lives with his wife and two young boys in the Mountain Parks Co-ops beside the RCMP detachment.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have time to think. I knew that if I turned back for any type of weapon or shoes it might be over for our dog.鈥�
Screaming at the animal, Dale said he鈥檚 still not sure why the cougar decided to let go, but is grateful that it did.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know whether it was my conviction or what I did, but it released the dog,鈥� said Dale.
鈥淚鈥檓 damn lucky the cat got off my dog because apparently they don鈥檛 get off their prey that easily.鈥�
According to Dani, the entire ordeal lasted less than 30 seconds, but by that time the damage had already been done.
In less than a few seconds the cougar had sunk its teeth into Luna鈥檚 neck leaving her with puncture wounds, claw marks and a large open cut.
鈥淎s soon as the cougar lifted its jaws from her she got away,鈥� said Dani, adding her two young boys watched the entire ordeal.
Immediately after the cougar released Luna, Dani brought the dog inside and called Janet Jones, owner of the Jasper Veterinary Clinic. Dale also called Parks Canada, which arrived on scene within 10 minutes.
With the cougar held in the tree, Dani and her 13-year-old son drove the dog to the vet where it received 30 stitches. The dog was released from care later that day and is now recovering at home.
According to Parks Canada, a wildlife conflict specialist shot the cougar with a paintball gun to mark it, but before they could figure out what to do it jumped out of the tree and took off.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to keep in mind that this involved an off-leash dog out in the back at 9 o鈥檆lock in the morning and the area surrounding the townsite is cougar habitat so it鈥檚 not unusual to have sightings,鈥� said Steve Young, a communications officer with Parks Canada.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 stress enough that off-leash dogs are an opportunity.鈥�
Dani didn鈥檛 deny their dog was off leash, but said that it could have been much worse.
鈥淚 can not stress enough that my dog was in my yard when she was ambushed by the cougar. My kids play out there all the time and they are not on a leash. It could have been my 60-pound son,鈥� Dani wrote in a follow-up interview.
鈥淚t is time Parks was more aggressive in keeping these predators away from the residential area. The public needs to be aware that this could have been their own child.鈥�
Following the incident, Parks Canada set up a wildlife camera in the area to alert Parks if the animal returns, placed warning signs and advised residents living in the apartment complex about the incident. A warning has also been issued for trail 11 between trails two and eight.
Young said the cougar was a two-year-old female and Parks doesn鈥檛 think it was the same cougar that was reportedly spotted near Home Hardware on Jan. 7.
鈥淭his cougar was not one we had catalogued or knew about in the past,鈥� said Young.
He said Parks might have to destroy the animal if it returns, but has yet to make a decision.
鈥淚t could result in an escalation of management action,鈥� said Young.
He urged anyone who thinks they may have seen a cougar to immediately call the resource conservation office at 780-852-6155.
It鈥檚 the second time a dog has been attacked by a cougar in the region in the past month.
On Dec. 26, a Red Deer man was meeting a friend for coffee at Tim Hortons聽in Whitecourt when a cougar attacked one of his dogs.
According to local news reports, the man was alerted by his dog鈥檚 yelps and rushed out and punched the cougar in the side of head. The cougar released the dog, but not before doing some serious damage.
For Dani and Dale, their close encounter with the cougar is a reminder that Mother Nature is never that far away.
鈥淚 just hope we don鈥檛 have any more encounters and that they can reel this cat in before it gets to somebody,鈥� said Dale, adding they live only a block-and-a-half from Jasper Elementary School.
He urged pet owners and other members of the public to be vigilant when they venture outside.
鈥淎ll I can say is carry something that you can defend yourself and your dog with, because you never know.鈥�
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
