PALO ALTO, Calif. - A mountain lion that had prowled the streets of residential Palo Alto for hours was shot and killed Monday after a dog chased it up a tree.
An 11-year-old black Labrador named Kelsy caught scent of the big cat and bolted for it, chasing it up a tree until police arrived, according to the dog's owner, John Furrier.
"She had a ferocious growl that we've never heard before," Furrier said of Kelsy. "I think she's a hero. I think she could have saved some lives."
Police had been on the lookout for the lion after it was spotted earlier in the day. Officers who arrived to find it in the tree didn't have a tranquilizer gun, and the animal started to run off, so they decided to bring it down, said Capt. Torin Fischer.
The neighborhood where the lion was shot was far from the mountains the big cats normally call home. This was in the middle of residential Palo Alto, just a few blocks from an elementary school.
"It's very rare," Capt. Fischer said. "I can't remember something like this in the last five years."
