Mountain Lion Slain After Attacking Dog

Authorities shot and killed a mountain lion Sunday as it devoured a 40-pound dog in the yard of an Arcadia home.

The pet’s owner called 911 when he saw “a tiger” on top of his dog, said Patrick Moore, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game.

Arcadia police, Pasadena Humane Society officials and wardens from the Fish and Game Department were called to the scene, surrounding the full-grown male mountain lion after it had dragged the mix-breed dog off a porch, said Steve McNall, executive director of the Pasadena Humane Society.

The cat started to walk calmly toward game warden Mark Jeeter when Jeeter shot it.

“It wasn’t out of self-defense. The warden just thought it was becoming a matter of a depredation problem,” Moore said. “The cat destroyed someone’s property. The guy had just picked [the dog] up from the Humane Society.”