Yucaipa, California – A Southern California family is mourning the death of their two large-breed dogs, who were killed in a brazen mountain lion attack on Saturday morning. According to Laurie Schultz, the big cat jumped a fence to access their yard sometime between 7:50 and 8:20 a.m. and attacked their 90-pound husky and 65-pound Anatolian shepherd.
On April 19, Schultz made a post on social media, writing:
So, sad day for the Schultz household in Yucaipa. Between approximately 7:50a.m.-8:20 a.m. Saturday morning a mountain lion jumped into our dogs’ yard and killed both our 90lb husky and 65lb anatolian Sheperd. This mountain lion, who we have on video, even came back and took the Sheperd out and carried her away.
And warning residents in the area to be vigilant:
This was an unprovoked attack and the dogs were targeted. This also happened in broad daylight. I have reported to all agencies and nothing can be even thought about until Monday morning (Dept. of Fish & Game). WE KNOW YOU HAVE ALL SEEN THE WARNINGS ABOUT KEEPING YOUR PETS INSIDE, BUT PLEASE REACH OUT TO PEOPLE WHO WALK OUR STREETS AND WARN THEM.
It is unclear if wildlife officials are actively searching for the mountain lion or not.
independent investigations and reporting.
37 Comments
They were only gone for the day but I can see the problem. The fence is only 4-5 feet tall. A cat can jump that like nothing. The 2 dogs were big but they look young. And had never had to take on a predator like the cat. I’m sorry the dogs r dead but it was owner fault not mountain lion.
Where I live we have
racoons
snakes ( summer, fall)
coyotes, rare
in my area
thus I have No pets since fear being attacked as my adult cat was by racoon Sunday in 2022
Next door neighbor has the snake issue BUT can smell rattlesnake in area
Maybe need barbed wire on fence top.
If the dogs had been inside at night the cougar would not have killed them…Were they even allowed in the house? I have coyotes so my dogs are not left outside in the dark to be killed and my yard is fully fenced. So sorry for them. 🙁
Amen!! The absolute cruelty of not keeping your dogs INDOORS!!! Kept outside from their family?? Damnit!! So cruel…. and deadly!!!
Amen!! The absolute cruelty of not keeping your dogs INDOORS!!! Kept outside from their family?? Damnit!! So cruel…. and deadly!!!
KEEP YOUR PETS INSIDE AT NIGHT-DUMB ASSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE THEM OUTSIDE KNOWING SOMETHING LIKE THAT COULD HAPPEN!!!!
“Brazen” and “unprovoked”? NO. The picture of the cat shows you can see all its vertebrae. The cat is literally starving, and if it’s a female, it most likely also has kittens to feed. And the time of morning when this cat showed up and took these dogs is in fact a natural time of day in this general area around the San Bernardino Mountains for a hungry cat to be looking for food. People erroneously think cats only hunt at night in the dark. They don’t. They hunt in the morning after sunrise once it’s warm enough to come out of their nests and again in the evening around sunset. They may stay out after it gets dark when it’s not too cold out, but currently, it has been so unusually cold like it’s still winter here even though it’s almost May, all the cats, even the wild ones, are going to be hunkered down overnight trying to keep warm!
They will also hunt down children and even adults. Which has happened more than once in the Santa Ana’s over the years . That had included a full grown adult male who was riding his mountain bike close to a traveled road.
While it’s regrettable, the mountain lion looked as if its ribs were showing. It may have been starving or it may have had kittens to feed. People who live in those environments must be aware of possible dangers. Here in Western NC, we have bears to avoid. If we tear down their habitat and move in, what are they to do. I’m nearly always on the side of the animal who’s just trying to survive the only way it can and knows how to do.
ils partent en weekend et n’emmènent pas leurs 2 chiens !!! c’est inacceptable inadmissible
c’est de leur faute s’ils sont morts, si on décide d’avoir des chiens, on les emmène avec nous en weekend et vacances sinon on en prend pas !
THE BASTARDS!!!!
What or who are you referring to?
This is a horrible tragedy. And I’m sure the people feel horrible. There are no boundaries for a hungry mountain lion anymore than there’s boundaries for a coyote that goes into neighborhoods and kills cats that are running loose. There’s no good answer. Everything wants to survive. Prevention is the best. I’m not going to rant on these people because I know they feel horrible. They messed up and they have to live with it forever. We will all learn from this…
Let’s turn our attention on these POS sub humans that torture and abuse animals in general. Let’s hold them accountable. Let’s make the laws stronger . Let’s make the fines bigger. Let’s put their asses in jail for life. They don’t deserve anything good!! I have way more contempt for them than someone who made an honest but stupid mistake.
Higher safer places and monitoring the entire area are suggested when you have pets outdoors even in fenced yards!! Be proactive – you screwed up left them alone and susceptible to a hungry animal looking for food!!!!! It’s a shame I couldn’t live with myself
Amen!! Death to ALL animal abusers!!!
your an idiout… this wasnt abuse at all…..
As a Iong time activist for animaIs (since 1972), I was hoping that a movement which was started by reaI caring peopIe wouId be carried on by future generations.
However, what I am seeing instead, over 50 years Iater, is a cIuster of keyboard karens, posting petty judgements against peopIe who Ioved their dogs.
There seems to be no abiIity to discern anymore. Maybe it’s brain damage from toxemia , or perhaps a new “cuIture” which has been indoctrinated into society, or both.
Those dogs Iooked very heaIthy, and happy to be where they were. I bet a few of the oh-so-superior commenters beIieve that dogs and cats who are kept Iocked inside, put in crates, dressed in cIothes, and taken to veterinary offices routineIy to be pumped fuII of poisons, are Iiving optimaI happy Iives.
They’re projecting their own vaIues on the animaIs, aIthough I beIieve many peopIe who Iock their “pets” in cages (“crates”) shouId have to spend a day Iocked in one themseIves.
In this dangerous worId, there are risks invoIved with Ietting dogs Iive their Iives in a way that is pIeasing to THEM.
It did not seem too much of a risk to the owners, I’m sure. These dogs were not Chihuahuas or Yorkies. One was an AnatoIian Shepherd mix, which protect fIocks of sheep from predators. The other was a husky.
When I was a teenager, the dog across the street was shut in the house whiIe the famiIy went to dinner. There was an eIectricaI short, and the house caught fire. No means of escape, and the dog died a horribIe death, much worse than being taken by a predator.
ReaI crueIty exists in this worId. Go after it, fight it, and stop piIing on peopIe who truIy Ioved their dogs, and are grieving.
MAYBE YOU DON’T REALIZE THE AREA THAT THESE FOLK LIVE IN????
ALSO, THESE SO CALLED LOVING PARENTS WERE OUT OF TOWN FOR THE WEEKEND!! THEY WERE NOT AT HOME!!!
OUR WILDLIFE THRUOUT THE COUNTRY HAVE BEEN DOING ALOT OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR FOR QUITE AWHILE!!
I live In Southern California in a more populated area than Yucaipa BUT even we need to be careful with our pup! When our pup is outside day or night In our backyard, someone is always with her!! She is 50 lbs.
Accidents can happen that is for sure ~ I DON’T SEE THIS AS AN ACCIDENT ~ THIS HOMEOWNER HAD THE AUDACITY TO SAY IF THEY ADOPT AGAIN THEY WILL BE SURE TO BUILD SOMETHING APPROPRIATE PROTECT THE DOG! TOO BAD YOU DIDN’T DO THAT BEFORE ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CURRENT FENCE IS INAPPROPRIATE PLUS YOU HAD TO HAVE KNOWN THE HABITAT YOU LIVE WITH!!!
Oh by the way have you ever been attacked and killed by a predator? Mauled by a predator???
I see message not assimilated. . I’m aware of where the dogs Iived, and I know one was bred to deal with predators, and one was a 90 pound husky.
The owners were not being malicious, and they do not deserve the screeching karen treatment.
There is pIenty of down-and-dirty, horrific and deIiberate crueIty going on. I wouId suggest venting your outrage on getting that stopped.
And on top of that, there is a form of crueIty in imprisoning animaIs in gilded cages.
ObviousIy I have not been kiIIed by a predator. I got bitten pretty badIy breaking up a dog fight when I was about 14 years oId.
I aIso was run over by a car at age 2 1/2, had a compact fracture of my wrist (bone sticking out) from a skating accident, and was toId I was accident prone from many such incidents. when young. I wouIdn’t trade any of those away for not being aIIowed to enjoy the outdoors, and my freedom.
Sorry For You Sue ~ really I am!
You Will ,never convince me that you are an Animal Activist!! You judged your own friends family for an accidental fire ~ that is really sad.
You do not personally know anything about these pups!
Good luck to You!
Just FYI. I did not judge my neighbors for their dog dying horrifically in a fire. They Iearned from that tragedy, as did I, and provided access to outdoors at aII times for their next dog. . That was projection on your part.
Don’t be sorry for me, even if I am disappointed in what peopIe (who Iive in very fragile gIass houses) choose to get furious about these days. There are animaIs Iocked in restraints on factory farms, in Iaboratories, etc., being tortured for days and weeks on end.
Because of all the fires all over CA, you have wildlife shifting everywhere trying to find a place to live. They’re trying to exist. Where are the animals that have lived here and how do the survive when all their food is gone and they’re being pushed out by roads, homes, stores, expansion,.
The language in this article is a little concerning. “unprovoked”, “brazen” this was a starving wild animal following instinct. The dogs should not have been left outside in ML country. A dog is not “off limits” to them. This is no different to coyotes killing cats (which the owners are typically blamed for). This was a tragic AVOIDABLE event and hopefully the owners learned from it. But the mountain lion is not to blame. And killing it is not the answer.
💯💯💯🙏🙏🙏
Thank you sue for the rational thought after all the “opinions and judging about this article. As the sad society continues to push farther into the wild for housing there needs to be a balance between wild and domesticated.
REALLY….. IF YOU KNOW YOU HAVE MTN LIONS, KEEPS YOUR PETS INSIDE,,,REALLY, OMG STUPID. POOR DOGS
Yeah dumbass. Cats can jump. How about you stop using your backyard as a dog sitter when you leave for so long. I’m sure you left food out for the dogs since you were gone for so long, which will absolutely attract other hungry animals. That cat looks like it was starving and was desperate for a meal. Which you left out for them. Please do Not get anymore animals since you clearly cant take care of them properly.
I’m sorry for the poor dogs but do not blame the mountain lion for the owners stupidity and the continual encroachment of humans into wild places.
Why would you leave your dog outside knowing that can happen? So neglectful.
THE SO CALLED JERK PARENTS WERE NOT HOME • THEY LEFT FOR THE WEEKEND!! THAT IS HOW MUCH THEY CARED FOR THESE BEAUTIFUL DOGS!!
Gee, you sound SO heartbroken. Why leave your animals alone outside knowing this could happen?? Those poor innocent animals. Hopefully you don’t get anymore.
and you sound SOOOO ignorant.
Why you dumb fucks leave your pets out knowing this could happen. Please do not get more dogs.
I just Read A News Article About This Horrific Death Of These Beautiful Pups!!
Did You All Know That These SO CALLED PARENTS OF THESE POOR PUPS WERE GONE FOR THE WEEKEND??? THEY WERE KEEPING AN EYE ON VIA THE SECURITY CAMERA!! WHEN THEY SAW THEM SUPPOSEDLY SLEEPING, THEY CALLED THEIR NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR TO CHECK ON THEM!! THAT IS HOW THEY FOUND OUT THEIR PUPS WERE DEAD!! THAT IS WHEN THEY CHECK THEIR SECURITY TAPES AND FOUND OUT THE TERRIBLE DEATH THEIR PUPS SUFFERED!!
THESE PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER EVER HAVE ANOTHER IN THEIR CARE!!!
Sorry For You Sue ~ really I am!
You Will ,never convince me that you are an Animal Activist!! You judged your own friends family for an accidental fire ~ that is really sad.
You do not personally know anything about these pups!
Good luck to You!
I agree with you Kristina; why the hell were they outside? I can’t stand people who have dogs as ‘lawn ornaments’. Either have them as part of the family or not at all. The fact that Mountain Lions wandering on to her property was a known possibility, how unbelievably stupid and neglectful of her to have left the dogs outside. Any dog owner who lives in a known area of dangerous predators; should accompany the dogs outside for their toilet break, and should have a loaded firearm ready for any uninvited guests. A lot of the time all you have to do is fire a shot, and the predator will take off. Dogs are safe, family is safe, all is well. IT’S NOT THAT HARD.
THESE BEAUTIFUL PUPS WERE LEFT OUTSIDE BECAUSE THE SO CALLED PARENTS LEFT FOR THE WEEKEND!
THEY CALLED THE HORRIFIC DEATH THAT DID NOT NEED TO HAPPEN!!