Mountain Lion Chased Out Of Yard By Dog: New Canaan Animal Control

NEW CANAAN, CT — While dogs in popular media are known to chase after cats, one brave dog recently chased an animal believed to be a mountain lion out of the backyard of a New Canaan home.

In an email to Patch, New Canaan Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm said a local couple noticed a large cat with a long, thick tail jump over a four-foot fence and into the backyard of their Conrad Road home Sunday around 5:30 p.m.

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According to Halm, the couple believed the cat to be a mountain lion.

The couple's Mini Aussie then proceeded to chase the large cat toward a back fence, which it jumped over and disappeared into the wetlands behind the home, Halm said.

Halm noted the couple's dog was not a large animal.

"Cats, even wild, will run if chased by a canine as long as they can escape," Halm said in an email.

Including this weekend's incident, there have been three mountain lion sightings reported in New Canaan since March, Halm said. The other two were reported on Brookside Road and Old Rock Lane.

"I have to assume it is the same animal," Halm said, "as they are solitary animals with a large territory, except during breeding season and [while] raising their young."