A spunky Pomeranian named Sadie is lucky to be alive after she was snatched by an owl in the woods near her Iowa home. Sadie had run away last week after being scared by fireworks, reports the Associated Press. "I just kinda thought she had found somewhere to sleep and that she would be home," Sadie's owner, Michelle McCarten, explained to the AP.
Instead, "Sadie was swooped up by an owl in the woods," the AP reports. The dog was discovered when she fell out of the sky, landing in the middle of the road in front of a surprised driver, Jamie Padden. Padden had gotten out of the car to help the dog when she saw the owl returning.
"The bird's wingspan took up about half of the road when it was coming down, so it was a pretty big bird," Padden told the AP. "I was screaming and yelling... and the bird took back up."
"The area they showed [in the video] looks like perfect great-horned-owl territory," raptor specialist, Trish Nixon, tells Paw Nation. "Without having been there, I surmise that the owl saw the Pomeranian running around -- not much bigger than a rabbit -- and was either protecting its territory or was hungry." Rabbits are prey to raptors such as the great horned owl, which are called the "tigers of the sky," says Nixon, "because they are pretty fearless when it comes to hunting and protecting their territory."
Luckily, Sadie escaped the owl's clutches with only a broken tail. "I would guess that the reason the dog was dropped was that it was too heavy for the owl to actually carry and hold on to for long," says Nixon. Owls are nocturnal, so if a small dog is left out at night, it could be mistaken for prey.
Instead, "Sadie was swooped up by an owl in the woods," the AP reports. The dog was discovered when she fell out of the sky, landing in the middle of the road in front of a surprised driver, Jamie Padden. Padden had gotten out of the car to help the dog when she saw the owl returning.
"The bird's wingspan took up about half of the road when it was coming down, so it was a pretty big bird," Padden told the AP. "I was screaming and yelling... and the bird took back up."
"The area they showed [in the video] looks like perfect great-horned-owl territory," raptor specialist, Trish Nixon, tells Paw Nation. "Without having been there, I surmise that the owl saw the Pomeranian running around -- not much bigger than a rabbit -- and was either protecting its territory or was hungry." Rabbits are prey to raptors such as the great horned owl, which are called the "tigers of the sky," says Nixon, "because they are pretty fearless when it comes to hunting and protecting their territory."
Luckily, Sadie escaped the owl's clutches with only a broken tail. "I would guess that the reason the dog was dropped was that it was too heavy for the owl to actually carry and hold on to for long," says Nixon. Owls are nocturnal, so if a small dog is left out at night, it could be mistaken for prey.
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Really?! "I just kinda thought she had found somewhere to sleep" says the human??
In a snowy, wooded area like that? NO WAY- I'd be out all night looking for the little dear, just like when my old German Shepherd used to run off during thunderstorms & fireworks. I am appalled.