KING COUNTY, Wash. — Fish and Wildlife officers are looking for a large cougar that fatally mauled a family dog and then dragged it away in a community near North Bend.
The dog’s owner said he awoke at 3 a.m. Wednesday to the sound of his dog yelping as it was being attacked and dragged into the woods in the Riverbend area.
Neighbor Tom Owens said his friend Bob called Wednesday morning and told him to bring his rifle.
Owens showed KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Chris Francis the area the men looked for the dog and the predator that killed it.
“(The cougar) was just looking for a place to finish the kill and hide it,” said Owens. “All you could see was a leg or two from the dog sticking out. The cat had buried it under some brush and stuff and that’s what they do, they bury their prey,” said Owens.
The Golden Retriever, named Cutie, was sleeping on the front porch of the house when it was pounced on by a cougar more than three times its size.
The dog’s owner said he heard the commotion, went to his window and watched the cat take his companion of more than 15 years into the woods.
“When we pulled the weeds back it was a pretty horrific scene. (The dog had) a hole in its neck. It was completely ripped open and the jugular was ripped out. Poor Bob, he just kind of stepped back and couldn’t believe what he was looking at,” said Owens.
Owens showed Francis the spot where the cougar took Cutie, where some fur remained.
“I'd say that cat is in this area. I wouldn't be surprised if he's watching us right now,” said Owens.
The men took the dog back to the house in a tarp.
Owens said when the cougar runs out of food it will be back hunting again.
A school bus stop is not far from the driveway of the home where the dog was attacked.
KIRO