Talon Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I have been wanting to share this story here. I get up at 4am in the morning to go to the gym or run before work. I let my 2 dogs out to go to the bathroom before I leave and then feed them and my cats to keep them all quiet so the others in my house can sleep until I get home again. It is still quite dark out at that time. One morning a few months ago, when I let them out, a Great Horned Owl (that has lived around my house for the past 5 years or so, swooped down and tried to pick up my 13 lb Bichon Frise, not once, but twice! He spent 2 days in the hospital. He was put on antibiotics and strong pain meds. HE couldn't walk nor move for a week, wouldn't eat, barely drank water. He would bite when touched, I had to carry him up to bed at night, and back down in the am to the couch. It took 2 months until he was fully healed and back to his old self. I had no idea my puppies weren't safe in all this time...I did a lot of research after this and it is more common than you would think. Also, I have learned that they are more apt to come back for the prey they didn't get.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Oh my. So glad your puppy is still with you and now healthy. Owls, hawks, eagles all of of the predator birds will do this type of attack. Being a country girl at heart, I have seen a lot of dive bomb attacks and lost small animals to these types of birds. Your puppy is very lucky to be here with you. Stay alert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 So glad it turned out OK for you. Like luvparrots, I am a farm girl. I remember crying my eyes out over the kittens I lost to owls, a couple of times during daylight hours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Amazing. Before I got to the part of who did it, I was sure you were going to say a pit bull. We have some friends who were out walking their Corgi down the alley behind their house and ended up in a tugging match with a neighbors pit bull latched onto the mid-section of their Corgi and them on the front legs holding on. Similar wound area as your doggy except it was one big gaping hole. We had two rather large owls living in our tree line a year back and I never would have considered our little rat terrier was in any danger. Hard to believe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Oh my! Yes, your rat terrior is in danger. The owls come in silently from behind, stick their talons into the animal in hopes of cutting the hamstrings so they can't get away at the same time lifting them up. It happens in the blink of an eye, right before dawn and at dusk. IN the day if they are hungry.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I remember you sharing the story of your dog's attack on facebook, he is truly lucky to be alive and I know he must have hurt something awful until it healed up but glad to hear he is back to his old self though I bet he is more wary of going out in the dark to do his business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Horrors! Is that Rocky? Poor little mite must have been so scared, and you too of course. I am so glad you were able to get her out of the clutches of that beast. We have two small dogs about that size and I put them on leashes because I thought our greatest danger was of the coyotes lurking. I will have to make sure my husband sees this because he takes them out before he runs about the same time in the morning that you were out. Thanks for sharing and I am ever so grateful he is going to be okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileysPapa Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I have mentioned in previous posts that I have worked with Owls. I was a wildlife rehabber, and cared for quite a few. I did caution everyone about them. Their feathers are different than most other birds to allow them to quietly swoop down on their prey. Not make the noise like our parrots wings make. Also, their talons are needle sharp, and beaks are razor sharp. Your dog was lucky. A full grown Great Horned Owl is a large, very strong bird. And a hungry one, or one with young to feed, can be ferocious, and relentless, in it's attack. Glad everything worked out for the best. As the previous two "farmgirls" have said, any small living thing is a target for these birds. Having had to capture them myself, I can tell you that they are not afraid of creatures our size, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Lady Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 glad to hear your doggie is ok , that would have scared me to death Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Katana, Yes that was Rocky...you have a good memory! YEs, we have coy-dogs, and I always worry about them as well. They howl like crazy, and we do get woken up by them killing an animal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Owls a so good at what they do, I have worked with them when I was a Zookeeper and have done some Owl rescue as well. Sublime predators and you and Rocky are fortunate indeed, such quiet wings and unerring focus. I think more of them are becoming our neighbors in the suburbs as their territory in the wild has been reduced. Just like raccoons, Hawks and Coyotes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Who could forget the infamous monologue by Nilah when Rocky was turned pink on a school holiday? I hope he has a full recovery. I am so thankful you were able to prevent anything worse from happening to him. It had to have been traumatic for all of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat Birds Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Poor baby! So glad he is back to his old self. I am thinking I had better be more careful about my grandnephew puppy when he visits. He is a small dog - less than 10 lbs. and we have hawks around here. But he is on a leash at all times when I puppy-sit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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