VANCOUVER -- A young pup set to be trained in search and rescue is missing after being snatched by a cougar in Anmore, B.C., Thursday night.
Isaac Heisler had only just picked up the three-month-old german shepherd from a breeder in Alberta last week.
Heisler has been a volunteer with both the Sasamat Fire Department and Coquitlam Search and Rescue for years and was hoping his new dog would also be part of the team. He was named Diez after the Diez-Vista trail.
“That dog was going to be very loved by Coquitlam Search and Rescue. My goal was to get him trained and certified to serve the community,” Heilser told CTV News Friday morning. “I wish he could have gone through the training with me to become certified but maybe one day I'll do that with another dog.”
Heisler had taken Diez for a walk on leash at about 7 p.m. Thursday, when a cougar jumped out of the bushes and grabbed the pup.
“We were playing tug of war for about 30 seconds and then I actually fell back,” Heisler said. He managed to get back on his feet before the cougar briefly dropped the dog and made an advance on Heisler, who kicked the cougar before it grabbed Diez again and took off.
“It was a quick 45 seconds but it was long,” Heisler said. “I was screaming very loud, there was 10 people rushing out of their homes to help.”
But Diez hasn’t been seen since.
Santos Trangia also lives in the area and captured not just one but two cougars on video crossing the street a couple of hours after the attack. He believes he saw a cub and maybe it’s mother.
“She was kind of waiting for a cub so I had to stop,” Trangia said. “This is the first time that I’ve seen them but I’ve been hearing a lot of them lately.”
This is the second cougar attack in the Tri-Cities this week. Another dog was killed after being attacked by a cougar Tuesday night in Port Moody.
