Yorkies as Fast Food for Horned Owl's

From the Winnipeg Sun, Canada - Jan 26, 2005

A tiny Yorkshire Terrier was almost a late night feast when he was attacked by a determined owl last week.

Caillou, a three-year-old male terrier weighing about 1.6 kilograms was on the veranda in the back yard of a home in nearby Rockland, Ont., that he shares with owners Josee Brennan and Jean Lamoureux.

It was about 11:30 p.m. and Caillou was having his final out before settling down for the night. advertisement

"We put him outside every night before bedtime," says Brennan.

"Luckily, my partner was watching through the window or else I think the dog would have been gone. He saw this shadow come down, and - it was snowing that night - he just went outside barefoot and grabbed this thing and started shaking it.

"The dog was under its talons. Jean kept shaking it, and the dog got free. Caillou came back inside and he was just soaked in blood. A few seconds later I guess there would have been no dog. It was quite a terrible scene; the dog was soaking in blood as he had been injured by the bird. My partner also got a few scratches in the process.

"This was unreal, it was unbelievable. The dog shivered throughout the night."

Caillou was taken to a veterinarian and treated for a puncture wound under his neck but did not require stitches, said Brennan.

"That was the worst one. He had a few others on his head and neck. He's very traumatized, but he's fine. There were feathers left on the ground because of the fight, and the vet confirmed that it was an owl."

Bird expert Bruce Di Labio, who examined feathers, believes the culprit was a great horned owl.

"Only a great horned owl is big enough to go after a small dog. They'll go after skunks and other prey."

There have been numerous sightings of great grey owls in the Ottawa region this winter, the birds having moved south for food.