EDITOR,
It was approximately three weeks ago when I embarked on my morning run on the trails behind our house only to notice a posted sign alerting me not to go further.
Cougars were nearby! Apparently there were two of them. I thought about driving to the nearest gun shop to purchase a .303. However, it was 6 a.m. and nothing was open and I realized Squamish didn't have a gun shop. Please understand: We are city slickers who only moved here two years ago in search for a piece of dirt that didn't top the $1 million mark. We didn't realize it came with wildlife. Further notification via the Squamish Chief relieved my fears when it was written a few days later that the RCMP in conjunction with conservation officers went on the hunt to try and get these beautiful but vicious predators. Again, please realize, we are two professional people with the same amount of wire-haired wiener dogs, Porsche and Cooper, looking for a soft place to call home. We named them after the cars we would like but couldn't afford. They are a meal not to be resisted by you know whom!
A couple of days later it turns out all local alerts were lifted and the trails were once again open for local exercise. Hmmm, but where were the cats? Moving forward a couple of weeks to today's date, we were alerted by our neighbour Sue, as she and her husband Rick were about to put a couple of 12-ounce ribeyes on their barbie, that she just saw two large cougars behind her fence. Was it the juicy steaks that made these beautiful creatures reappear, or Porsche and Cooper?
Photography being my newly found hobby immediately made me retrieve my Canon 7D with the big lens. I had to get a shot, but nothing. Wiener dogs inside, steaks devoured and the cats were not near. Until about three hours later.
I stepped out on the front lawn for a cigarette.
As I was looking towards the forest, there she was in all stride, harmoniously pacing toward the nearby alders as if she needed to let everyone know, wiener dogs, watch out! It was a beautiful sight! I went back inside to only reappear for one final nicotine fix one hour later, and there she stood, looking right at me from our neighbour's yard 10 feet away.
This time I had my camera with me and I took the shot. She so gently made her way into our backyard and back into the forest. By this time Porsche and Cooper were already snuggled in their usual place.
Joe Rommel
Squamish
