Sun Valley Residents Warned To Keep Pets Inside After Mountain Lion Attacks
SUN VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — Sun Valley residents are being warned to keep their pets inside at night after two dogs went missing this month in suspected mountain lion attacks.
KCAL9's Adrianna Weingold reports California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials Wednesday found mountain lion tracks they believe belong to a cat that killed two dogs in the neighborhood.
"Normally when lions feed, they like to take their meal to a private place. A lion that took a dog out of one of those yards would likely take it up to the canyon," CDFW Lt. Marty Wall said.
Saro Tomasian says his 80-pound boxer, Rocky, was taken January 4th. A big cat can be seen prowling near his home on a security video taken shortly before the pet went missing.
"He came into the concrete path here, and as he got here, he was laying here about a minute or two, and then he approached closer to the gate and jumped right over the patio cover where Rocky was sleeping down," Tomasian said.
Early Monday morning, 10 days after Rocky went missing, another mountain lion attack occurred next door.
Tomasian said his neighbor saw the mountain lion run off with the family Chihuahua in its mouth.
"There is definitely fear... I'm hearing it from all the neighbors around. We're still hoping to get a better result from the appropriate agencies," he said.
Tomasian and neighbors scoured the hillside behind their homes for missing pets.
They found evidence of a big cat, paw prints and a possible place it's been sleeping but no sign of their dogs.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife doesn't plan on relocating the mountain lion since this is its natural habitat.
Instead, officials are warning residents to take precautions like keeping their pets inside at night.
For more information about how to stay safe in mountain lion country, visit the CDFW website.
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