I live in a pretty urban area, and there was a story on the news the other day about a Coyote chasing a young child off the walk-way in one of the neighbourhoods and biting her...I always worry about Charlee...I'm hoping to move this summer to a more rural neighbourhood and have plans to purchase one of these enclosures for both the safety of my small dog,and cat..

Home of Habitat Haven, Outdoor Cat House : Cat & Pet Enclosures I've seen them in person, and they are very sturdy, and with the roof, should keep the little ones safe from hawks as well!

Me, too...I feel really bad that we cannot peacefully (mostly) co-exist with the other critters in this world without harming them and blaming them for the damage when they act normally for their species. The "When Animals Attack" TV show really drives home the point that we are the stupid ones, but most do not see it that way, and certainly it does not appear the show was meant to point out our incompetence. Where I live, we did eventually put out food for some of the small critters because they were dumping the garbage cans all over the yard every night and getting nothing for their efforts or ours, and baby possums would drown in the cans when it rained 'cuz they'd knock off the lids and climb in but were too small to get out. We have rescued many of them, and birds, too...I take pix! ;)..we know someone with a sanctuary. I have no idea how we could handle a coyote issue, with cats and Yorkies, surrounded by woods as we are. :confused:

I cant imagine how the owner is couping with this right now. I would be out of my mind with grief. I feel so sad for her and her family.

Thankful we life in an area that we do not have Coyote. Hawks yes, but my babies are all to fat to be carried off.

Poor yorkies :(

This happens way too often and this is why my dogs are grass like pad trained on our covered porch,,,I know some thing we are crazy but there are too many animals that can get them.

This is so scary. I have never heard of them here.

This is scary!

I had a large tree cut down that overhung my house. When the tree guy went up the tree to cut limbs that would have damaged my house if they'd tried to take it down as-is, he saw coyotes near the back of my property. So, thankfully I was made aware of it otherwise I would never have even thought it was a possibility! We hear them sometimes at night. ZoE will wake up and bark when she hears them howling.

It now makes me scared to walk with her anywhere near the back part of my property. I like to stay in the front and close to the house in the back. It a shame, I have a really deep few acre lot and yet now I'm scared to go too far back there even in daylight.

We live down in a wooded area and we have huge owls, hawks and now a bald eagle has been spotted in the area. We also have coyotes. I take Gracie out on the leash only at certain times of day and I keep her leash very short so she is right next to me. Even with that I am always keeping an eye out for predators. Many cats have fallen victim in this area.

If that lady knew there were coyotes in the area I can't imagine why she would let those little dogs outside. I guess people think a fence will keep them safe but it just isn't true.

I know someone who has one of these for her cats. They love it. She has a doggy/kitty door so they can go out right from the house. She locks it when she is not home and at night time.

In my opinion, that seems so tiny...and doesn't your baby want to run around all the time? Bailey is a very very very active dog, but she likes to sleep all day long and go out only about 2-3 times, at most. And they are only for short periods. How would your dog go to the bathroom in one of those things? I think that dogs are inside, and when they go out, they just want to run. Luckily, my house is right on the golf course, so it protects Bailey a little because there is always someone there. But she doesn't go out for long. I'm not too woried about hawks(haven't seen any) and Bailey is 7 pounds. That is just my opinion, we all have different dogs... but I know for a fact that Bailey would HATE that.

I know that everybody is so so worried that a coyote or a hawk can pick your dog up, but in reality... anything can. A person too. So I think that being outside with a stick or something loud would be good. But haveing your dog on a leash at all times? Isn't that a little too over protective? They need a sense of freedom. The coyote can even attack you, and then take your baby. I'm just stating my opinion, but I am happy that people are trying to take extra precaussions.

When I was around 13 years old I had a Chow Chow/Golden Retriever mix (named Caio Baby) and Yorkie (Speedy Gonzales) who were the best dogs in the world. We actually called them the neighborhood dogs cause my friends would come over to take them for walks. Anyways, one day I let Speedy out in the yard to play with Chow. A lil while later my Dad's employees got there and they didn't close the gate, and both of my dogs got out. Hours later my Chow come home all alone scratched up. A couple of hours after that a neighbor came over and said he had found a coyote eating my lil guy in the wash near by our house. I was devastated. I was so devastated that I couldn't bring myself to get another dog until last year when I got Darla. Now I'm super protective of her and will never let her out of my site. It was a hard lesson to learn and I still to this day feel so terrible for it happening. Speedy was only 7 years old when he passed, and my Caio Baby left us at 14 years old 10 years after Speedy. May my lover boys rest in peace.

I don't know who you were directing this too, but for me personally, it's a necessity for safety. While I own a few acres, I live on a main road and my property isn't fenced in, so for now being off leash outside isn't an option for us.

Fortunately, they do make very long training leashes and two joined together, give ZoE a "sense" of freedom :)

Those enclosures look small but they open up into as big of an area that you want. My friend has a tunnel like area that takes her cats from the house and then it opens up into a 12x12' area that is 5' high. She has shelves on the sides for her cats to climb and sit on. I think something like that would be great for a someone that wants to let their dog out to go potty and not have to be right there with them. I would never leave them out there without some supervision though. Read the thread about the stolen Yorkie in Texas. The ASPCA says that small dog thefts are on the rise. They say never to let your dog out in the yard unattended. With the thefts and the increase of predators there is just no sense in taking a chance.

Any responsible pet parent does whatever is necessary to care for and protect our babies. Whether we need an enclosure or fence or short leash is not truly the issue...responsibility and caring for them is. Even with the best protection we can provide it often goes awry unpredictably with tragic and unforeseeable consequences. Regardless of where we live, each location is fraught with its particular perils...some more common and/or universal than others...and I find the information how others protect their little ones quite reassuring and uplifting. I am intensely saddened to learn of failures that take our little ones away. Bless you all for the effort you make, and the information you share that someone else may be able to use but without which may have resulted in a sad event. Take care, all! {{{Hugs}}}

Thanks for the input on the enclosures. My girl likes to run as well, and at the cottage where it is not fenced in, I have an acre of land and keep her in sight on a long line all the time. The idea about having the enclosure was to ensure that she could go out to potty by herself as needed during the day (or under supervision in the dark at night)...meaning my 81 year old father wouldn't have to go out with her all the time, and it would be shared with my indoor cat. But she will still get her regular walks, and backyard playtime when I'm out with her...I'm so looking forward to having a yard, I plan to be out a lot!