Scott, I agree with every single word you said, except for that "Roll Tide" comment. LOL I cannot imagine the wildlife management folks would do anything to harm the mountain lions and, in fact, I'd rather it not come to that. In a perfect world, they'd trap and relocate them to very remote areas and wildlife refuges, not that there's any guarantee the cougars would stay in that area since they are going to follow their food source, so to speak. Of course, it isn't a perfect world. I have watched the NW wolf re-introduction program with great interest too and feel like the feds have made some mistakes that have led to great mistrust of them and their program. I wish they'd had a better/more efficient plan to deal with the problem wolves preying on domestic ranch animals right from the start. I'm merely hoping for a better year here at our place in 2010 with no real big kitties visiting the garden. Maybe I shouldn't have planted that whole row of catnip and catmint for my kitties and it is right along that garden fenceline too. Roll Tide? So, you support Alabama? Having suffered through OU's bowl game, and then TCU's and UT's, I'm just glad the bowl game season is over. At least the Dallas Cowboys are still hanging in there, and that gives us a little something to watch as we wait for seed-starting time and planting time to arrive. With the Florida sub-species, I'd like to see them thrive and grow because they have their role in the ecosystem. What will happen, though, if they start preying on animals or being a threat to people? What will happen if they start moving into Georgia and other areas? The 'idea' of having them around is easy, but the reality seems harder to manage. Jay, I felt exactly the same way when I read the post from our visitor from Texas. At first I wasn't going to say a word but then I thought I'd make the points I made. Maybe this is a person who has no idea of the danger involved in having large predator animals hanging out in people's front and back yards. I have found there are lots of people who have no clue about wildlife. When someone tells me they think it would be "cool" to walk out their door and see wolves or bears or cougars 'out there', I just shake my head. Let's not forget the elderly couple here in Love County that was attacked by that buck this fall. The one thought that sticks in my mind is the statement that our undersheriff made about how there was so much human blood on the ground when he arrived that he figured someone had to be dead. I'm glad they survived, and now whenever I see one of "our" deer hanging out around the pond or compost pile, I head right inside the house and wait for it to leave before I come back outside. The last two weeks we've had both coyotes and bobcats on our property, and I know this because the coyotes are leaving scat and both the coyotes and bobcats left tons of tracks in the snow and mud (thankfully the mud is about to dry up.) In an odd way, seeing them around a lot is good because they become a lot more scarce when something bigger and meaner than them is nearby. Dawn

"ALL OF THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DAMAGE TO YOUR CAR AND THE DEATH OF THIS WONDERFUL DOG LIES WITH THE OWNER OF THE DOG. " i don't agree with that in all cases. some kid could have opened a gate, the dog could have jumped/climbed/dug under a fence to chasse a rabbit, all sorts of reasons. the ONLY way to guarantee a dog will never get out is to lock them in a cage with a concrete floor and a roof. if you are going to do this, you don't need to have a pet. many/most times it IS the owners fault, but not always. i agree with the other poster, good chance this is a coyote. i usually kill a couple a year myself. they have been getting brave around here, i had 2 stare me down last summer in my back yard. i was walking my dog before bed and the light hit their eyes. we all froze and just stared, i did not want to turn and back away, due to they will attack in some cases. i now tote a pistol when out side at night, and when safe i dispatch them on sight.

Susan- I had absolute confidence that you knew your friend well enough to predict his reaction. It's great that his response was what you had hoped for. Your photo would make a perfect birthday card. It's the kind of card I'd select for one of my own friends. I wonder if you could submit some of your photos and captions to Hallmark?

Most important thing is you are ok. Damage to vehicles can be fixed. Was the deer injured? I hope it wasn't or that you called animal services or the highway patrol to report it. Poor deer. I got hit in the rear quarter panel of my less than 3 month old truck years ago. In town. Deer just kept on going. DS got hit by a deer on his motorcycle that same month. It was his first ever trip to the ER for crashing. Just road rash that time thank goodness. A few years back he a deer in the mountain on his motorcycle. Somehow he hit it broadside and was going so fast he cut it right in half. Kept the bike up. When he walked in the door he was quite pale. I asked what happened and he replied he'd hit a deer. I asked if he went down and was injured and he said no but the deer died. I asked him how he was sure it died and he said front half of deer went to one side of the road and the back half on the other. He call them "rats on stilts" but has a soft spot for all living creatures so it was pretty traumatic for him.