A North Texas homeowner is warning others and asking other pet owners to stay vigilant after a bobcat attacked his dog.
George Dalton owns a 5-year-old chihuahua mix, Little Joe, that was attacked by a bobcat in his Grapevine neighborhood yard.
The attack occurred on April 8.
The bobcat attacked the dog in a neighborhood along Overlook Drive, according to media reports from NBC 5 DFW.
“He had a big cut… and he had a big bite mark… and then he had some knicks along his back,” Dalton told the local news outlet.
Dalton was in his yard gardening at the time of the attack.
“When I heard him crying, I thought he got caught up in some wire of something, and I went over to get him, rescue him, and it startled me when that big animal flew out… exploded out of the bushes,” Dalton told NBC 5 DFW.
“It went at me and over the fence. And my first reaction was ‘Oh my God, that was a bobcat.’”
There have been many bobcat attacks and sightings in North Texas over the years.
Bobcats are native wildcats of Texas, and their diet consists mainly of small mammals and birds, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.
Dalton urged pet owners to be more vigilant; otherwise, a trip to the vet could be worse than just the total bill.
“I’m OK now. A thousand dollars lighter in the pocket, but I’m OK, and the good thing is, he’s OK,” Dalton told NBC 5 DFW.
A fully grown bobcat can stand as tall as 3-foot-6, and a mature cat can weigh as much as 36 pounds.
There are many ways people can try to discourage bobcats from their yards, according to The Colony, a city in North Texas.
According to the website, wild animals such as bobcats may be scared away by loud noises like an air horn, banging pot lids together, and many other precautions can be taken, such as not leaving pet food unattended outside.