To never walk my dog again?

[TerraNotSoFirma]

I took one of my dogs for a late walk last night, between 9 and 10pm.
Got into the woods, she was acting agitated and kept looking behind her.
I turned round a few times, nothing there.

Carried on, listening to my mp3, decided to turn out of the woods as was getting a bit dark for my liking so headed for the footpath that runs between the road and the woods.

Dog still acting strange and looking back into the woods, get towards the end of the path turn round and see a black lab sitting by the fence, ah that's what's been bothering her she hates black labs.
Walk another few yards and my dog starts going properly crazy, up on hind legs, twisting around.

Turn round thinking the lab must be coming closer, NO a massive black cat jumps out of the woods, crosses the footpath, jumps the fence and crosses the road into the woods on the other side.

The thing must have followed us all through the woods, thank god I had my dog on a lead or DH reckons it would have went for her if she had been running around.

I'm not going back, I'm buying treadmills for my dogs.

I believe you OP! How amazing to have actually seen one!

Exactly she, how has there never been a dead one found? They must die.

There is another thread on the go just now about big cat sightings.

Anyway there has been the following captures and remains.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_big_cats#Captures_and_remains

Good point terra

Bloody hell, there have been a couple captured in this area.

Interesting waffley

Shewhowines, there have been sightings of the Loch Ness Monster too.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1329632/The-Beast-of-Cricklewood-is-caged.html

Personally I think that even though laws over keeping dangerous animals were tightened up a long time there are still some arseholes who manage to get hold of them then let them go when they realise how much hassle they are. Or they escape. Not sure how much breeding has gone on.

Does anyone remember some guy in a city in the US who was keeping a tiger in his bathroom?? I'm sure I didn't dream that.

My mum, sister and I saw one a good few years ago. It was totally terrifying, I was about 10 years old and we live in the countryside. We'd gone for one of our long country walks when we wandered into a huge field with what we thought was a statue of a panther. We were about to and have a closer look at it when it took a step forwards and turned it's head towards us. I distinctly remember my mum telling my sister and I to back away, very slowly, and to not turn our backs on it. It was absolutely terrifying.

On another occasion when I was in primary 6, our whole class was gathered around a window looking out onto the playground as a huge black cat sauntered it's way across the grounds. It wasn't as scary then seeing as we were seeing it through the glass, but I can't believe the teachers let us out to play afterwards!

Op, just wondering, why does your dog hate black labs?

Actually, that is strange. My dog hated black labs too, and I never thought much of it.

Maybe they remind them of giant cats?

Waffly got it in one

Do you know any of the local gamekeepers or estate managers? If there is a large cat then it must be eating something and they may have missing animals or found strange remains.

A woman I know on another forum lives Inverness way and her husband was out early one morning and saw the remains of a deer up a tree with the hooves bitten right through. It wasn't the first report of strange animal carcasses that the police had received.

Also, WRT no dead animals being found, I've heard of landowners not reporting the corpses of big cats because they don't want the publicity and hundreds of amateur big cat hunters and Sky News descending on them. No idea how true this is but it does make some sense.

i have a black lab and a golden lhasa apso - there will be reports of panthers and baby lions if i let them roam free?

this is such an interesting thread. i've never seen one but find it fascinating that so many people have yet so little evidence turns up. the problem is to really believe we have a small but persistent big cat population in this country you'd have to be believe there's a big cover up operation going on too as, as others have said, why haven't bodies been found etc?

I think the pp is probably very accurate. Landowners don't want the publicity so it is glossed over. Did anyone see the "picture" of the Essex Lion? Personally I think that that was fake! It's out of proportion and no pry with even half a brain is going to mistake that for a lion!
There is also a lot more land where these animals can hide than you think. And a sick and dying animal isn't going to lie out in public is it?

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7791419.stm This was 2008 so quite possible for there to be more of them, take care xx

My dog has been attacked on two separate occasions by back labs when she was quite young (def dogs not panthers :) )
She was also attacked by a collie and a golden retriever last year, she is very fear aggressive now and I don't let her off the lead because of it, just as well.

Also there's a lot of highlands that people don't really go to, I would imagine that any big cat would make its den well away from roads even if it hunted livestock. With a few being caught, I'd believe there's a small population of big cats in the highlands.

Remember too that they can travel. I think someone said 60 miles a day.

my dog hates any big black dog. Especially black alsations

I think shes racist

Probably. Personally I blame the parents. [pointedly looks at branleuse]

Maybe it's some innate fear of bears? Or they believe in hellhounds too?

Apparently, some big cats can have a territory range of up to 250 miles!

chances are the centre of the territories are fairly remote with human habitation at the edges. probably. 1 cat in a 250 mile territory and the chances of happenstancing on their dead body are fairly small. I expect.
Maybe.