Well it seems like the Neighborhood Bobcat is still in the area. I suspect it will be a permanent resident of our community. We may even see little Bobcats sometime in the future. Just remember that Bobcats normally avoid contact with humans, but under the right circumstances can take down deer sized animals. So keep your pets fenced in during the day and inside at night.
Category Archives: Safety
Fireworks on the 4th – Aftermath
Todd Vallie who lives on Shawnee Ridge Rd. near the corner with 136 Ave. E. wrote me the following.
We were gone last week and came home to a bucketful of fire works debris on our roof, new drive way, our patios and in our pool.
Who ever shot them off, further up Shawnee, needs to stop or come down and clean their mess up.
Todd is understandably upset. It is dry right now and with a little bit of bad luck some of the stuff which landed on his property could have been still smoldering. He might have come home to find a pile of ashes where his home once stood.
Please think about this next 4th.
SCAM TEXT ALERT
All,
My girls and I got a scam text this morning from 263-788-8845 claiming that we had failed to pay a toll. They wanted $6.67 for the toll, which would go to $66.70 unless it was paid quickly. The area code 263 is from Ontario, Canada.
Do not click on the link provided. Please forward this warning.
Kirk Hall
(253) 840-0411 home (253) 307-9812 cell
Aggressive Dog In Our Neighborhood
Recently I was informed about an aggressive dog in our Neighborhood. It took several interactions by the person who was attacked and intervention by Animal Control before the owner decided to turn the animal over to Animal Control. I am surprised that since a bite was sustained, Animal Control did not immediately quarantine the dog for observation. Pierce County has declined to pursue the matter since the dog was voluntary surrendered to Animal Control. However RCW 16.08.040 makes the dog owner completely responsible for dog bites.
In the above instance the victim showed what I consider too much restraint in dealing with the situation. Any animal bite requires the secure confinement of the animal for at least 10 days to rule out rabies. Failure to do so puts the person bitten in the position of hoping that they will not develop rabies, or having to submit to anti-rabies treatment. Rabies is a disease which is almost 100% fatal after symptoms develop. To my knowledge there is only one person in history who is documented to have survived after developing symptoms of rabies.
Your health is not the only thing at risk in a dog bite case. For example the average cost per dog bite insurance claim rose about 7.1% between 2019 and 2020 due to increased medical costs and the size of legal judgments and settlements. As of 2020, the average cost per dog bite claim was around $50,245.
Without the necessary insurance to provide enough dog bite coverage, individual pet owners could be on the hook for a considerable amount of money if their dog injures another person.
Please insure that your pets are under control at all times. They can be injured or killed if they run out in front of a car or attack or be attacked by another animal. If they bite someone you and your family could well find yourselves bankrupt if you are sued and the judgement goes against you.
Incident on 136th Ave E.
On 31 Jan 2023 at around 4:30PM three teenage friends, one of them black, were walking on 136th Ave. E. toward Military Dr. When they were near the sports court just before 118th St. E. they were accosted by two men in a red Chevrolet, License Number BMB 9859. One of the men asked the boys “Have you ever been robbed nigger” obviously referring to the black teenager. The boys felt threatened, though no physical harm was done to them. They reported the incident to their parents. Fortunately, because of the Neighborhood Camera System, we were able to identify the car which had cruised past the boys three times in total. A police report was made.
This kind of harassment has no place in our neighborhood, or in fact anywhere in the US. It was as vicious as it was unprovoked. Let’s keep an eye out for things like this.
Below are some pictures which show that between 4:08PM and 4:30PM the car passed the kids three times.
First recorded pass
Second recorded pass
Third recorded pass
Better Pictures of Bobcat
I received these pictures from a neighbor. She said “The bobcat has been coming to our house quite a bit now. We always take our dog out on a leash. The bobcat comes up to our slider and wags its tail when our dog barks at it. “
It appears that our Neighborhood Bobcat has become quite accustom to humans. This is not a good thing. Remember it is a wild animal and use great care if it is around. Always have your animals on a leash when you are out with them. Lets enjoy looking at our Bobcat , but don’t try to touch it.
PS: This time when I sent out notices I got the warning on my copy that “This may be a Phishing message”. In my case you can ignore the message, but be vigilant for real phishing messages. (KH)
Bobcat – It’s Still Here
Thanks to a call from a neighbor I was able to find the Bobcat crossing my backyard. It appears to be the same on as before, but who can tell. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
1300hrs 24 Dec 2023 – Bobcat crossing backyard
Mail Theft
On 12 September 2023 at 0102hrs two individuals on electric scooters came down 117th St E and turned on to 138th Ave Ct E. They went from one end of the street to the other and opened mailboxes to see if anyone had left mail to be picked up that day. They did not bother one Neighbor who has a Ft. Knox heavy steel mailbox. Also if you get the USPS app that lets you know approximately what to expect on a given day it will help you know if someone has gone through your mail. This link will take you to a USPS web page which will guide you through signing up for the service. https://www.usps.com/
Mail theft must pay well because electric scooters are not inexpensive and judging by the ease they went up 117th they were fairly powerful, therefore probably in the upper end of the price range. It appears that they used a truck as well as the scooters, as the first picture shows a truck stopping at some mailboxes at 0130:29 hrs.
I have heard that they hit another nearby neighborhood. It is tempting to put outgoing mail in your postbox to be picked up the next day. However remember that unless you have a very heavy steel mailbox like the Ft. Knox, it is easy for thieves to steal your mail in the early morning hours.
Below are pictures of the bad guys:
Yes We Have a Bobcat!!!!
Yesterday a neighbor sent me some great pictures of our neighborhood Bobcat hanging out in their yard. The Bobcat lay in their yard for about 10 minutes before walking off. When I received these pictures I checked with Google Images and it returned pictures of Bobcats in the US. I guess this put to rest any doubts we may have had about the correct identification of the animal. Anyone with small dogs or cats might consider making them into strictly indoor pets.
Do we have Bears in the Neighborhood again?
One of my neighbors was walking down Jennifer Court and spotted what he thought was bear scat. He sent me a picture and it looked the same as the Bear scat we found in the Neighborhood several years ago. It appears that the scat consists mostly of the remains of cherries. Since as far as I know, we do not have cherry trees around here, if they are cherries they must have come from someone’s home.
I have added the picture I was sent. If you have an opinion that it is something other than Bear scat, feel free to let me know at kahalljr@comcsast.net.
Addendum: A Neighbor texted me with the information that they have a cherry tree in their backyard and the last time we had a bear in the Neighborhood it was eating from their cherry tree. The scat looked the same as below.
