Cougar attack south of Calgary has family on alert after dog mauled

A family pet is recovering after being attacked by a cougar on a rural driveway southwest of Calgary on Sunday.

The attack happened at Rebecca Singer Strasser's rural property near Millarville as she was putting her kids to bed at around 7:45 p.m.

"My husband just got home and let the dogs out on the driveway, as we usually do, and then he heard the dog screaming. He ran up the driveway with our other dog and found a cougar right here mauling our little dog," said Singer Strasser.

The Scottish terrier, called Wednesday, was lucky to survive the attack, which was caught on security cameras.

"She had huge lacerations down her side. Her ear, her neck was chewed up and there was a lot of blood. She was definitely in shock."

The family's five-month-old German wirehaired pointer, Archie, charged at the cougar, along with Singer Strasser's husband, and chased the big cat away.

Singer Strasser said she grabbed Wednesday and drove her to a local vet, where the dog was treated overnight. 

The cougar came back to the scene 30 minutes later, circling the same area where the attack happened. Singer Strasser's husband, Jakob, shot at the animal with a shotgun and it left the area.

It follows another attack two weeks ago southwest of the city, where a cougar killed a pet cat just outside the back door of a rural property, pawing at a window before leaving.

Alberta Fish and Wildlife are aware of both incidents. 

It's made Singer Strasser think twice about her family's safety.

"I was out here with my kids 30 minutes before it happened. I used to let the kids come out and play and feed the horses and I'd be a few minutes behind them, but that will never happen again," she said.

Singer Strasser says she's hearing more stories like hers, about run-ins with cougars.

"In the last few years, there's been more cougar activity. I don't know if there's more or if we just have better technology to see them. We had a neighbour who had a cougar eat his goat earlier this year and that same cougar came back multiple times."

"There's not much you can do. It's part of living out this way," she said.

Wednesday was back on four legs on Thursday, shaved in parts and covered in stitches and wounds, sniffing around the scene of the attack at the end of the family's gated driveway.

Singer Strasser says they'll be adding a couple of bigger dogs to the family, and adding more cameras to monitor the property more extensively for wildlife. 

Information on cougar activity can be found on the Government of Alberta's website.

Cougar activity can also be reported by calling 1-800-642-3800