Cougar snatches and kills pug pup from Coquitlam backyard

“Keep your kids close to you,” warns B.C. conservation officer, as cougars appear around the Tri-Cities area in unusually high numbers

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A cougar swept into the back yard of a Coquitlam home on Friday night and snatched away a pug pup that had been let out to go pee.

The dog has not been seen since.

Acting Sgt. Alicia Stark of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service’s Fraser North Zone, said the incident was the latest pet/cougar encounter to be reported in Coquitlam, Burke Mountain and Anmore over the past week.

Stark said the incident occurred at 11 p.m. as the three-month old dog had been let into the yard before bed.

She said the cougar grabbed the dog and fled over the back fence into the green space.

On Saturday, a Coquitlam woman posted on a Burke Mountain Community Facebook page a pic of a sweet little pug she said was killed by a cougar on Saturday night.

The woman wrote “Sharing so this doesn’t happen to someone else. Please be so careful everyone. We lost our puppy tonight to a cougar. I was in the yard with her. It happened in front of my eyes. Bring your pets in. Use a leash even in the yard. Be right beside them.”

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Last Wednesday, the COS reported a cougar had taken a small dog that was running off-leash with two other dogs in front of a Coquitlam home. The cougar released the dog after being chased by the dog owner. The home backed onto Scott Creek — a forest corridor that leads to the Burrard Inlet.

Two days earlier, the COS reported a cougar had attacked a small dog at Buntzen Lake, north of Anmore.

Stark said the two Coquitlam incidents could have been the same cat, but the Buntzen Lake report was a different animal.

She said February was usually a time of more cougar activity near the forest/urban interface in her area.

However, this year the cougars were especially active.

“We are definitely receiving more reports this year than previous years,” Stark said. “I don’t know why, but there are definitely more. I have no theories on it, we are just rolling with it at this point.”

She said areas like the Scott Creek corridor were cougar habitat, and residents needed to be cautious by keeping children close-by and pets on a leash.

“Keep your kids close to you. You can definitely be outside with them, but keep them close and be aware of what you need to do if you see a cougar.”

That is, back away slowly so that the cougar has an escape path, and act aggressively.

Residents are asked not to place pet and bird food outside, as that attracts raccoons and squirrels — and they attract cougars. Stark said the cougars’ primary food source was deer.

dcarrigg@postmedia.com