North Texas dog owner is warning others to be extra vigilant with their pets after a bobcat attack.
Little Joe is very skittish, the rescue pup is a little weary of the outdoors after being attacked in his own yard.
BOBCAT ATTACK IN GRAPEVINE
It happened the Saturday before Easter along Overlook Drive in Grapevine.
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"He had a big cut… and he had a big bite mark… and then he had some knicks along his back," said Joe's owner George Dalton.
Dalton says he was out gardening when he heard his 5-year-old chihuahua mix yelping from inside their nature garden.
"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," said Dalton. "It went at me and over the fence. And my first reaction was 'Oh my God that was a bobcat.'"'
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BOBCATS ARE NATIVE TO TEXAS AND MOVE AROUND FOR FOOD
Bobcats are native to Texas according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife. They are twice the size of an average house cat with pointy furry ears and a short, bobbed tail.
"Bobcat attacks on pets are also very rare and it's usually going to happen when you have an animal that has become habituated, so it's learned to associate that area with a food source," said urban wildlife biologist Rachel Richter.
Richter says bobcats live in neighborhoods across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They are on the move year-round searching for rodents and typically avoid human and pet contact unless they've become comfortable or have been fed -- intentionally or by accident.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH A BOBCAT
So what should you do if you come face-to-face with a bobcat?
"What we would recommend doing is hazing that animal," said Richter. "Which is basically making loud noises, so you know clap your hands together, yell, wave your arms, get pot lid, bang them together."
And like with coyote sightings, if they display concerning behavior call Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Dalton wants pet owners in Grapevine and beyond to be vigilant, especially since the bobcat came back on Easter and has been seen by neighbors, in the past few days.
Meanwhile, Little Joe is spending more time indoors, and Dalton is grateful his encounter with the bobcat didn't cost him more than vet bills.
"I'm okay now, a thousand dollars lighter in the pocket but I'm OK and the good thing is he's OK."
