# close!



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I just took Emilio out potty. I always go out with him, always! I was about 5 feet from him and he was looking for the perfect spot and suddenly a HUGE owl swoops in. He was only about 2 feet above the ground. He flew right over and missed Emilio and swooped up steeply right in front of my face! I was waving my arms, don't know if it helped. He then turned and landed on a light pole across from the house where he could still see Emilio. I scooped up Emilio and ran into the house. My heart is still pounding. His wing span was huge and he was beautiful, but MAN, I think I just got some grey hair! Emilio weighs 8 pounds...I bet that wouldn't have been a problem for this owl!


----------



## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

you may have to carry an umbrella or something largish you can wave around with you when you take emilio out! my sister used to live in thousand oaks. one day her two cats were out in the yard. she heard one of them scream. by the time she got outside, the cat was gone. i'm pretty sure it was carried off by one of the predator birds in the area.


----------



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Oh Patk, that breaks my heart! I have seen owls here before and had hawks watch us but never had an owl swoop in. Poor Emilio, I know he has to poop, and I am not taking him out for awhile. I will bring an umbrella!


----------



## Beaches (Jan 25, 2014)

N2 - thank heavens you were right there! Your heart must be pounding just thinking about it. Good idea to gave a weapon close by.


----------



## PoodlePaws (May 28, 2013)

Yikes!!!!!


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

OMG this has been a day of potty break nightmares! Thank goodness you too had a happy ending. 
Geez, it just makes you want to keep them in a glass jar!


----------



## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Too close of a call is right!!! YIKES! Little Emilio would've been a snack !!!


----------



## kayfabulous6 (Nov 19, 2013)

Eek! So glad you both are okay. Scary birds!


----------



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Do you all think an owl could carry off a 16 pound cat? He is big so I thought he was safe, but now Patk's story has me thinking he could be got!


----------



## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

Oh geez! Go catch a rat, owl! You can't eat Emilio!!!!

pr


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

N2Mischief said:


> Do you all think an owl could carry off a 16 pound cat? He is big so I thought he was safe, but now Patk's story has me thinking he could be got!



Well even if it couldn't carry it off, it could do a lot of damage trying, with those talons, and possibly getting lift-off and then dropping it. I know that I have read Stories of pets being hurt, injured and killed that way.


----------



## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Wow! What a scary concern. You really have to watch the little ones like (dare I say it?) a *hawk*? Maybe your arm flapping did help to avert a grab. Regardless, good for you and your quick thinking and action! :adore:

Read a while ago when I was concerned about the hawks around here.
Frequently Asked Questions /Hawks Aloft Inc.
Can a raptor carry away/eat my pet?
As pet-owners ourselves, we share your concern for the safety of your pet. Raptors hunt a variety of prey, including rodents, birds, rabbits, snakes, and insects. Large raptors, such as Red-tailed Hawks and Great Horned Owls, can attack and kill small pets. We have received dozens of inquiries about dogs and cats weighing anywhere from 6 to 60 pounds. There is no specific cut-off weight at which your pet’s safety is guaranteed. If the size of your dog or cat is similar to or not much larger than naturally occurring raptor prey, there is a risk, not just from predatory raptors, but also from urban coyotes.

CATS: There are several good reasons to keep cats indoors. Outdoor cats are threatened by disease, vehicles, and harassment from larger animals, such as dogs and coyotes. These threats are a greater cause of mortality than raptors. Additionally, outdoor cats are responsible for killing millions of wild birds every year. For more information on this subject please visit the American Bird Conservancy/Cats Indoors Program.

DOGS: For very small dogs (less than 15 pounds), we recommend supervising all outdoor activities. Larger dogs are at less risk due to attacks from raptors, but urban coyotes present a danger to all outdoor animals. Dogs should never be allowed to roam free. Additional protection can be offered by providing an outdoor shelter or covered run.


----------



## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

mischief, i can't recall how large my sister's cats were, but they were not slim siamese - looked to be more on the maine **** end of the spectrum. yes, if you have predatory birds and/or urban coyotes in your area and they seem to check out your yard, i would guard my cat, too.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I doubt an owl could take off with a 16 pound cat, but yes there would be damage if it got a hold of the cat.

The sounds very scary indeed. I am glad you are both ok. I do like the idea of an umbrella or a bat as a thing to wave to ward off an attack. Yet another good reason for supervising your dogs in that near miss.


----------



## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Got curious and came upon this...Eagle Flight and Other Myths, Alaska Department of Fish and Game

“On a wide-open beach, I have no doubt that an eagle with a full head of steam could pick up a six- or eight-pound dog and just keep on going,” Clarke said. “If it landed to kill a ten-pounder, and then tried to pick up and fly from a dead stop, could it get off the ground? Probably not.”

Eagles will carry heavier loads a short distance. Mike Jacobson spent decades as an eagle management specialist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and recently retired.

“There used to be stories about eagles carrying off babies and little kids, and none of that has ever been documented,” he said. “They can pick up and carry four or five pounds, maximum, and actually fly off with it. They can lift a little more and hop it along, but they can’t carry it off.”


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The heaviest thing I've ever seen a bird of prey flying with was a blue fish that probably was 4 or 5 pounds. The bird, an osprey, was struggling with it since it was still alive.


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Speaking of beaches - I wonder if gulls would go after a dog, or do they just go for fish? When Timi was a puppy we were at a park by the river and I noticed some circling us quite a bit, and scooped her up....


----------



## Minnie (Apr 25, 2011)

Chagall's mom said:


> “They can pick up and carry four or five pounds, maximum, and actually fly off with it. They can lift a little more and hop it along, but they can’t carry it off.”[/FONT]





lily cd re said:


> The heaviest thing I've ever seen a bird of prey flying with was a blue fish that probably was 4 or 5 pounds. The bird, an osprey, was struggling with it since it was still alive.


Wow I always thought this was a myth - concerned more with the attack not a carry off but little Bella at 4.2 lbs would be right in that range...


----------



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

This is why I am glad Misha uses a piddle pad inside. She goes between 3.14 to 4lb even. I know they could take her!


----------



## itzmeigh (Apr 28, 2014)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Speaking of beaches - I wonder if gulls would go after a dog, or do they just go for fish? When Timi was a puppy we were at a park by the river and I noticed some circling us quite a bit, and scooped her up....



I've never seen a gull go after a dog. I've never seen them go after a human either. They can get kinda "in your face" if you are feeding them and then stop and but try to keep eating so it is best to wait until you finish eating to feed them. Once the food is gone they'll go away pretty fast. 

Here's my boy doing some gull feeding. (Leftover movie popcorn. Nothing like a spontaneous trip to the beach after a movie!)





At least our gulls won't usually bother you. I don't really know about other gulls. 

They tend to be more flighty and if a dog runs or even moves they'll just fly away.


----------



## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

the raptor sites i have looked at say that horned owls can lift and carry about 8-9 pounds, but can kill larger size prey than that just by digging their claws in. also, if they can just get far enough away not to be bothered, they will simply rip larger prey to shreds. i know this sounds awful, but i don't think anyone with small pets should underestimate what predator means in this instance. the other side of the story appears to be that the main reason for high mortality rates among young raptors is starvation.


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

itzmeigh said:


> I've never seen a gull go after a dog. I've never seen them go after a human either. They can get kinda "in your face" if you are feeding them and then stop and but try to keep eating so it is best to wait until you finish eating to feed them. Once the food is gone they'll go away pretty fast.
> 
> Here's my boy doing some gull feeding. (Leftover movie popcorn. Nothing like a spontaneous trip to the beach after a movie!)
> 
> ...



I googled it, and saw that there have been quite a few Gull attacks in the past few years (dog and human) in the UK. I wonder if they have a different variety?


----------



## itzmeigh (Apr 28, 2014)

Tiny Poodles said:


> I googled it, and saw that there have been quite a few Gull attacks in the past few years (dog and human) in the UK. I wonder if they have a different variety?



I'm not saying gulls will never attack. Plenty of birds will happily dive bomb people and animals (mockingbird, I'm looking at you!). 
Just that they aren't really a bird I'd be worried about attacking me or my dog. I'm sure if you got too close to their nest or irritated them they would. I've heard of gulls that are fed too often becoming mean when they see people because they want food. 

But yes, there are many different types of gulls. I know the ones we saw in California seemed much larger then our gulls here.


----------



## Scooter's_Mom (Feb 1, 2012)

My sister's neighbor has a teeny tiny little yorkie. She had been just putting him/her out on a tie out to potty until my sister snapped a picture and showed her. It was a huge hawk perched just above the property. It would sit and watch every move the little dog made each time it was out to potty. Needless to say, tiny yorkie doesn't go potty unless she has someone to accompany them now.


----------



## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

We have barn owls that have nested in the eaves of a neighbor's house for years. Since they fly right over our heads to feed their babies we have an excellent view of their diet. They do eat a lot of rodents, the occasional snake and rabbits. Rabbits are a challenge for them...they used to drop the heads in my children's tree house. My son thought it was the greatest thing ever; the girls not so much. We have seen them swoop down at cats and have seen cats with the tell-tale talon marks on the rib cage. I don't know of any predatory nocturnal birds in San Diego county, except owls. We do have Great Horned Owls, but not often. Our barn owls are so noisy when they have babies that we have to close the windows on the side of the house by the nest... and sometimes turn a fan on. The adults screech and the babies answer with a kind of gutteral sucking whine. Believe me, our pups do not potty alone at night ever.


----------



## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

On the eastern shore sea gulls will circle and swoop down at a small poodle. I had a toy mail and a boat at a marina, every time we went to the boat the gulls swoop at the poodle going down the dock I was worried they may peck him in the eye so I stayed close


----------

