Sam's best friend saves him from cougar

Heath Urie, Daily Camera

Friday, August 31, 2007

BOULDER — Pete Sheinbaum says that if he hadn't walked out to his backyard Wednesday night at the exact time he did, Sam — his family's 7-year-old yellow Lab — probably would have been killed by the mountain lion that pounced on it.

The cougar attacked the dog just before 8 p.m. at Sheinbaum's home on Spring Valley Road in northwest Boulder.

Sheinbaum, 37, said Sam doesn't usually bark, so when his longtime companion howled for several minutes he went outside to investigate.

"I walked out the back door and at the moment I went outside, the mountain lion went onto the lawn," he said. "It was sort of stalking, moving slowly toward Sam."

The frightened homeowner said he yelled as loud as he could to try to scare off the animal, but the cat grabbed hold of Sam and started rolling violently on the ground with the dog's neck locked in its jaws.

The mountain lion, which Sheinbaum estimates weighed 150 pounds, easily overpowered his 70-pound Lab.

Sheinbaum said he ran toward the wrestling animals, still yelling.

"I guess my yelling was enough to make it let go," he recalled. "It went off into the wooded area; I could see my dog was limping and starting to bleed."

As the mountain lion receded into the thick brush surrounding the property, Sheinbaum said he grabbed Sam and another of his dogs that had come out to investigate and told his wife, who is seven months pregnant, to close up the house.

The couple rushed Sam to an emergency veterinary hospital, where he was treated for puncture wounds and bruises to his throat, neck and lower back.

"If I'd gotten out there five or 10 seconds later, there was no way the dog would have survived," Sheinbaum said, relieved that vets said Sam will be OK.

"He'll survive it, but he'll be housebound for a while."

Sheinbaum said Wednesday's incident was the second time he and Sam have squared off with a mountain lion. The pair bumped into one of the big cats about four years ago while hiking along the Mesa Trail, he said. The animal stared them down but didn't attack.

"I guess Sam has used two of his nine lives," Sheinbaum said.

The couple called state and city wildlife officials after the attack, who warned them to trim the tall, open grass surrounding their property because such conditions make ideal hunting ground for mountain lions.

Jennifer Churchill, spokeswoman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife's northeast region, said Thursday that this week's attack was the first reported in the area in several months, but it is not unusual.

"Mountain lions are active year-round," Churchill said. "It's not unnatural at all for lions to go after people's pets. We just want people to be aware they are out there, and for them to do what they can to keep their pets safe."

She suggests that homeowners in the foothills and mountain areas keep their pets indoors at night, or in outdoor kennels that are completely enclosed. Homeowners can also use motion-sensing lights to help scare off wildlife after dark.

Churchill said wildlife officers will consider setting traps for the mountain lion that attacked Sam, if there are other reported incidents that lead officials to think the cougar is a serious threat