Dog in the sky

What if you got hit on the head by a dog from the clouds? After the unbelievable thing that happened near Bozeman, we know such a thing could happen.

Getting clobbered on the head by a big trout out of the sky was the topic in this column last Sept. 30. Also discussed another "raining trout" that shattered the windshield on a school bus near Great Falls. These fish-bombs are the result of osprey losing their grip and are fairly common occurrences.

Owls and eagles are known to pick up almost any prey they can fly with. Eagles will kill young mountain goats and bighorn kids by knocking them off of cliffs but can't fly away with them. I've seen golden eagles soar away with fairly large jack rabbits. A great horned owl had no trouble stealing a two-pound puppy I put outside of our cabin at the Flathead Mine. Once saw a bald eagle fly with a big mallard duck.

So how much did the doggie weigh that was stolen by an eagle Dec. 29? I talked to the owner of "Freddie" and she told me he weighed between 15 and 16 pounds when the eagle took him away.

Freddie is truly a miracle dog, a 13-year-old "Pekingese mix" who mysteriously disappeared from the rural Bozeman neighbor's driveway late Wednesday the 29th. The Slevin family, including three children was devastated and launched an unsuccessful search with the neighbors helping. They plastered the town with posters and ran newspaper ads. Jill Slevin said, "We had a lot of weepy eyes over the New Year's weekend."

Then the miracle of miracles! At noon Wednesday, Jan. 5, a battered little dog with congealed blood on his neck and head, covered with ice and bug bites, and nearly frozen, came limping to the Slevin's door. He was quickly wrapped in a warm blanket and rushed to the veterinarian. The vet determined the wounds on Freddie's neck were caused by the talons of an eagle. How the little dog got free of the talons no one will ever know, but it must have been on the ground or close to it.

The veterinarian believes Freddie survived the sub-zero weather by finding shelter with some kind of bedding to stay warm. The bedding was infested with bugs but it probably saved the dog's life. He had lost three pounds.

Jill Slevin told me on Monday, Jan. 17 that Freddie had a couple medical setbacks last week but was doing fine now. Naturally, he is getting above average attention from the three kids.

Jill said, "Because of all the news stories about Freddie, we have heard from other people who have lost pets but didn't get them back. One family in Utah told us an eagle picked up their dachshund but couldn't fly with it because it was on a leash." She added that when Freddie gets back to running around outside again they will take extra precautions.

Here at the Ostroms, our miniature schnauzer weighs 15 pounds, same as Freddie. Told Iris maybe we should start tying him to a tree with a rope, "It's the leashed we could do."