IDLEDALE, Colorado (AP) -- A mountain lion crept through an open door into a house outside Denver, snatched a Labrador retriever from a bedroom where two people were sleeping and left the dog's dead body outside, wildlife managers said Tuesday.

No one else was hurt in the home about 14 miles southwest of Denver.
Wildlife officials later trapped the 130-pound male cat using the dog's body as bait and fatally shot it.
Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Tyler Baskfield said the cat entered the house through open French doors early Monday and fled with the Labrador after the owners woke up.
"The people got up and looked around and saw the mountain lion's tail leaving the house," Baskfield said.
Mack and Jacquie Anderson told Denver television stations that their 12-year-old Labrador named Scout was killed by the lion. Another dog sleeping in the room wasn't harmed.

Jacquie Anderson said they were awakened by a commotion in the room at around 4:30 a.m. and, when she got up to check what was happening, she realized the big cat was in the bedroom. She exclaimed that there was a mountain lion in the room and she believes that led it to run out the open doors with Scout in its mouth. The dog weighed 72 pounds.
The couple said the dogs didn't bark to warn them of the mountain lion.
The owners agreed to use the dog's body for bait. Baskfield said mountain lions often stash their kills and return for them later.

ranging from raccoons to bears might amble in through open doors and windows, "it is kind of strange for a large predator like that to come that close to the house," Baskfield said.
colorado has an estimated 3,000 to 7,000 mountain lions.



it obviously was smelling that lab outside in the yard...amazing that either dog didnt bark when that lion was coming through the house

 

Too bad. They might want to keep those doors closed.

 

Very strange circumstances. I thought that big cats out in the wild, have a constant strong odor to them. At least the ones in Belize did. Maybe they have smelly cats
Poor doggy. The people were lucky it wasn't a worse outcome.

 

Let me elaborate on my personal experience.
Years ago I lived in Belize. At night on occasion, a black panther would roam around the plantation. When it walked by the open window of the house, you can most of the time smell it. It was really musky. Also, my father had hit a leopard once with his pick up. He got out, picked the carcass up and threw it in the bed (it had a cap on it). As he was driving the rest of the way home, everytime he passed a dog, which were many, they barked and chased the truck. They couldn't see it, so I'm assuming they smelled it.

 

anyone who successfully deer hunts would know that same smell as well....you can pick up the smell of bucks in an area that they were just in..musty smell as well

 

These people were just plain STUPID ! ! ! Living in an area like the foothills here in Colorado where cats and bears are very common visitors, they still leave doors open, windows open, food out, etc. Simple common sense says, "Duh, we should close things up!" I imagine these dipsticks probably leave their garbage in unsecured containers, pet food on the patio/deck, pets outside to act like a fast food restaurant sign, you get the picture. I feel for the dog, should have been the owners. Darwin Award nominees for certain.

 

Maybe we should all take donations and buy them catfood so they can put it at the foot of their beds and maybe it will leave the other dog alone next time. What can you say............DUMBA55 people make the world go round!

 

I thought my neighbor's cat was bad enough leaving dead chipmunks for me outside my door.

 

When ever a wild animal does what it does naturally, and humans are involved,
it gets hunted down and shot.

Kind of sucked to be both dog and mountain lion.

Closest I've come to a big cat is when my old neighbor had a Nubian lion for a pet.

It was a pretty cool cat.