April 18, 2017

"This article is an embarrassment to the Post. It's sensationalist fluff, from the picture of a snarling mountain lion and the dime-store novel title through the complete absence of useful information."

"Beyond the *possibility* that it a mountain lion entered a house to eat a dog and the fact that most of CA is a habitat for mountain lions, there is little of use about the article at all. How did the animal get inside? How many attacks have there been on pets in recent years? On humans? This story is the fluff journalistic equivalent of the movie 'Jaws,' demonizing an animal for shock value. This kind of shoddy journalism is not why I bought a subscription to this paper."

That's the most-liked comment on a Washington Post article titled "‘Shadow of an animal’ creeps into sleeping homeowner’s room, snatches pet dog, leaves trail of paw prints."

Looking at the sidebar, the "most read" list, I think I'm glimpsing what's happening at WaPo:



Perhaps readers have become averse to clicking on the political articles that crowd the front page, even when the teaser headline try to make something sound like it's about a scary animal — "Trump’s no populist. He’s a swamp monster" — or dessert — "Trump’s cake and golf presidency." (Those are actual headlines on the WaPo front page right now.)

IN THE COMMENTS: Bob Boyd offers an alternate headline: "Dog Dies In Darkness."

36 comments:

Michael K said...

Even leftist federal employees get bored at TDS.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Moral of the story.....don't leave your doors wide open at night (dumbasses)

Seriously, this is the reason we don't have pet doors for our cats. Do I want nightly visits from skunks, raccoons, foxes, daily intrusions from ground squirrels and other vermin? Not to mention other stray cats. At least the cat doors would be too small for the mountain lions who roam through our property.

Nonapod said...

Hey, news headline writers, if you can't confirm my biases than don't be political at all. I don't want to hear about actual news, I just want that quick shot of dopamine that comes from feeling I'm right or seeing something freaky.

MadisonMan said...

Not clicking on the link. DBQ makes me think the pet suffered for having idiots for owners.

Bob Boyd said...

Alternate headline:

Dog Dies In Darkness

Fernandinande said...

It's sensationalist fluff,

It's an anecdote, like most "news".

Looking at the sidebar

This link was at the end of the article:
"White nationalist claims Trump incited him to shove protester at campaign rally"

A "white nationalist" SHOVED somebody - national news!

Sam L. said...

I take it that the WaPo is going downhill fast, and increasingly faster. Couldn't happen to nicer people.

Bob Boyd said...

"This kind of shoddy journalism is not why I bought a subscription to this paper."

The good news is there are plenty of other kinds of shoddy journalism on offer at the Washington Post.

Fernandinande said...

How did the animal get inside?

Trump opened the door.

How many attacks have there been on pets in recent years?

Trump attacks pets whenever possible.

On humans?

Pussy grabbing is an attack.

This kind of shoddy journalism is not why I bought a subscription to this paper.

One man's shoddy journalism is another man's Nobel Prize.

Heatshield said...

I'm conservative but paid for WaPo to get a broader perspective and understand the other side. But they've lost it. Trump Derangement Syndrome in full force. Done with them.

rhhardin said...

Carolyn Roberts says drone food-delivery is a pie in the sky idea.

David said...

We have gone from pussy grabbing to a grabbing pussy.

Is that full circle? Progression? Regression? Or are we in another dimension where circles and pussies are not what they seem?

Infinite Monkeys said...

Using a flashlight, the woman searched for the defenseless pooch but found only a trail of large, wet paw prints on the floor outside. She called 911. Deputies from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office arrived and found more paw prints near the house.

No evidence that the cat was actually inside other than her saying she saw a shadow. She may have just left the dog outside and changed her story to sound less careless. (Although leaving the doors open so that anyone or anything can come in where a child is sleeping seems pretty careless to me.) I doubt that a dog that is awake and barking would continue to lie still on the bed and wait for the cat to get it.

Sprezzatura said...

"Seriously, this is the reason we don't have pet doors for our cats."

You can get ones that only unlatch when your chipped pet goes through.

Works great, unless a predator consumes the chip.

Hagar said...

Last week a feral cat died of bubonic plague in a NE Mesa neighboorhood.

MayBee said...

Call me crazy, but I think a mountain lion coming into a house and snatching a dog is a story.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Works great, unless a predator consumes the chip.

Exactly. Which is why one cat is 100% indoors: she is 17 yrs old. The other cat (5yrs male 18 pounds) gets to sleep inside the workshop at night. He can fight with the other cats and wildlife during the day.

Clark said...

Wait what? This isn't news? A MOUNTAIN LION CAME INTO A HOUSE AND ATE A DOG!!!

I'm with MayBee. That's news in my book. The increasing presence of large cats in urban centers as well as the presence of invasive species is an issue of importance to people living in affected areas. Sorry if it compromises the carefully constructed narrative of animal rights activists.

John henry said...

I was wondering about the unicorn of giant clams, myself.

A search turned this up

http://i.imgur.com/ueuwIL5.png

Michael K said...

California is over run with mountain lions since hunting was banned 50 years ago.

I have treated a number of attacks on humans and more occur every year.

I don't think I've heard of one coming into a house, though.

There was an attack in Mission Viejo about ten years ago on two women who were mountain biking. The lion was dragging one woman off when several passersby helped beat it off with branches. She was the wife of a local oral surgeon. She was in the pre-op surgery room waiting for surgery when her husband found out about the attack and came to see her. When he saw her face, he fainted.

The sheriff's helicopter was looking for the lion and found another victim. A man had been also mountain biking and had a problem with his bike. It looked like he was working on the bike when then lion attacked him from behind.

It had eaten his liver.

It made the mistake of coming back for another meal and was shot.

Known Unknown said...

"This kind of shoddy journalism is not why I bought a subscription to this paper."

This dufus is just noticing this?

Fernandinande said...

Fernandinande said...
Trump opened the door.


There was no mountain lion - Trump ate the dog.

John said...
A search turned this up


Did Trump try to grab that?

Infinite Monkeys said...

I'm with MayBee. That's news in my book.

I interpreted "a story" as meaning it's a tale, not news, but maybe that's because I think it's mostly made up.

MayBee said...

I meant news story.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I think it's mostly made up.

Why would you think that? I'm doubtful about some of their story.

Pescadero is an area with a lot of wilderness, marshes and is not very thickly populated. Rural. A mountain lion could easily decide that a little yap yap yapping dog is a handy snack. The people were lucky that the dog was there or the cat may have decided to take a kid for a snack and lunch tomorrow.

The article said the people had left their door open. THIS I find more unbelievable considering the climate is not all that warm on the coast. There is usually a lot of fog and this time of year when it is cold, who in their right mind would have their windows open at night, much less an open door.

The lion, I can believe. The open door....not so much. That part I think is made up.

MayBee said...

The lion, I can believe. The open door....not so much. That part I think is made up.

I have accidentally left a door open at night.

Michael K said...

"The lion, I can believe. The open door....not so much. That part I think is made up."

I kind of agree. Mountain lions are pretty shy and I doubt one would go in the house. They stalk for a long time before attacking.

One of the cases I was involved in, the lion attacked a child. After it was all over (The kid was not badly hurt), the parents developed a roll of film they had taken on their hike and there in the photo was the lion stalking them hours before the attack.

Barry Dauphin said...

It would be a real story if the mountain lion made the dog ride on the roof of his car.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I have accidentally left a door open at night

@ Maybee

:-D

I can guarantee you, the first time you wake up to a raccoon in your kitchen, you won't make that mistake again. We had a door, that wasn't tightly latched, blow open in the middle of the night. We heard a bunch of noise, crashing sounds, in the kitchen and our cat growling....something she never had done before.

Upon checking out the kitchen, shotgun in hand thinking it might be a robber (or worse), the raccoon saw us and scampered out the door. What a mess!!!!

We fixed the door latch and always make sure that the doors are firmly closed....not always locked, but closed.

At least it wasn't a skunk!!

Big Mike said...

There are way too many self-described ecologists who have a quaint belief that humans can live in peace and harmony with wolves, grizzly bears, mountain lions, and other large predators. They're wrong.

Big Mike said...

@DBQ, that would mess up any kitchen! BTW, you do know that raccoons are bright enough to work a door latch if they can figure out how to reach it, right? A closed but unlocked door is not an insurmountable obstacle to a determined raccoon.

Michael K said...

" A closed but unlocked door is not an insurmountable obstacle to a determined raccoon."

When we lived at the beach and had a few possums around, one chased my wife up the stairs one night. The door was open.

Yancey Ward said...

Sometimes the dog grabs the pussy, sometimes it is the reverse.

Gahrie said...

On several occasions I have had to live trap possums to remove them from my house. Hot dogs seem to work best as bait.

Roughcoat said...

Forget it, Jake, it's journalism.

Bruce Hayden said...

The theory, from the WaPo comments, seems to be that the door was off a second story balcony, or some such. But, of course, mountain lions are very good at climbing, and do so very rapidly. A couple of other comments:
- Why didn't she shoot the cat, or whatever was in her room? Yes, she is in CA, but I think that you can realistically argue self defense when shooting most anything or anyone that is not supposed to be in your house at night, if they indeed were. I for one, wouldn't live close to natural predators without a firearm readily available.
- if it indeed was a mountain lion, it needs to die. Mostly, they are shy, and fear humans. When they lose that, and start taking pets close to houses, or worse, in the houses, they have lost that fear, and it is only a matter of time before they attack humans. When I was living in mountain lion country in the mtns west of Denver, a cat taking a single dog close to a house was usually sufficient.