[manolos mom]

Originally Posted by MaggiesDaddy

I post this under emergencies as if you were calmly waiting for your baby to do her business in the yard and then see a shadow quickly get bigger and as you look up you see your baby in the clutches of a huge bird now flying away to never be seen again. Yes this is a very real reality I have almost faced last week. I live in the country with a 18 acre open front yard overlooking a lake. The tall trees nearby are perfect perches for predator hawks. When my neighbor told me his 6 cats disappeared over 2 weeks he assumed a differtent type of predator coming in at night, cototes maybe. Then he say the hawk come down in a flash and swoop away with his momma cat weighing 13 lbs. So of course I became a paranoid daddy keeping my beautiful best friend 3 year old Maggie who weighs 4 lbs with flowing silky fur. After watching for a month it finally happend, the hawk was circling my house eyeballing my Maggie for two days. Think of it!! To helplessly watch your little best friend be carried away to some nest and dismembered alive beginning with the eyeballs!! Yes the ultimate Nightmare!! I have had nightmares over and over ever since my neighbor told me his experience. I decided to take action and obtained a long barrel shotgun. After the hawk flew down in the deadly approach I was spotted so it landed about 40' away in the top of a tree. Later that evening I saw it circling the house and I knew it would not let up until it got my Maggie so I patiently waited to end this once and for all. It was flying chasing a buzzard right on its tail for some reason about 100' away along the tree line. I aimed about 4' in front of him and pulled the trigger. Bang!! He instantly fell in a spiral and landed in the woods. I ran to look and he was just sitting there staring at me with it's wings spread wide. No blood, no feathers, he was perfectly fine. Well what do I do now? I had a serious decision to make. I am face to face 5' away from a healthy Hawk with a 4' wingspan. His eyes blinking at me and wings wide I knew he was created by God to kill and eat small animals. It was him or my baby so I made my decision. I hit him on the head a few times with the barrel of my gun thinking I killed him. I walked back to the garage and got my dog leash to lasso his feet and carry him off to bury. Well as I lassoed his razor sharp claws suddenly he jumped up and was perfectly fine again. I was scared to freakin death!! Now I have a hawk on a dog leash flying around my head like a living kite. I did not know what to do so I ran and ran and ran until I got to my house. I tied the leash to my porch column and went and got my wife. Do we call the law? Now we realize it is probably illegal to hurt a hawk. But come on, what if they take it and just let it go. We will never have any peace not knowing if we he will fly back to his nest nearby. My wife was so distraught and said to me, "If that bird kills our child I will never forgive you." I did not hesitate, it was a fathers duty to protect his child no matter the cost. I thought it more humane to use a .22. I thought a small hole through the brain with a high velocity bullet would cause the brain to explode and liquify without any mess. Was I ever WRONG!! I put the barrel to the birds head, pulled the trigger, and what resulted was a flopping slinging blood mess covering everything within a 5' diameter. After the quick death I felt the claws --- literally sharp as needles. The beak -- literally designed to rip, tear, break bones, and pick every bit of flesh from a living being. I sat down contemplated my actions. I was so torn between right and wrong, was I right or wrong? It took me a few days to firmly conclude I did what had to be done. I had no choice. I am a grown man who made a decision that was best for me and our baby. We cannot trust our law enforcement agencies with every little thing. They would possibly save the life of the bird but I would never have the matter settled and know that I know the creature who chose to target Maggie could Never make the possibility a tragedy come about. I hear they travel in pairs so I will still be keeping an eye to the sky. I am not asking anyone their opinion of if what I did was right or wrong. But I am asking you to keep your eyes open to predators who stalk and wait for small animals no matter how cute or how much you love them. Just ask my neighbor who lost a total of 7 beloved cats and now lives with the nightmare of actually seeing his baby fly away screaming to its miserable and slow torturous death. If you dont live in the city like I, the very real possibility is hiding and waiting for your little precious.

I am glad you killed it. My friend had the same experience except it was one of her Yorkies that got eaten alive. It doesn't matter if you live in the country or city, hawks and owls are everywhere. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands. Good for you...