Woman fights off cougars in Santa Rosa

<p>A Santa Rosa woman said she fought off two aggressive mountain lions Monday afternoon before taking refuge in a neighbor's back yard.</p><p>Nicole Lentz was walking her four-month-old Labrador, Piper, in the open space behind the Skyhawk subdivision in southeast Santa Rosa at about 4:15 p.m. when the two juvenile cats appeared.</p><p>"They charged right up to (my dog), they were attempting to get ahold of her back area," Lentz said.</p><p>Santa Rosa Police sent officers to the scene and found the mountain lions at about 6:20 p.m., according to Sgt. Eric Goldschlag.</p><p>"We did notify (California Department of) Fish and Game," Goldschlag said. "They advised us to try and allow them to make their way back to their natural habitat."</p><p>Officers cornered the cats in a back yard in the 1500 block of Mountain Hawk Way before the animals leaped a 4½-foot fence and ran into the grassy area east of the development, Goldschlag said.</p><p>Lentz, who has lived on Mountain Hawk Way for three years, had never seen a mountain lion in the area, but said neighbors have spotted them before.</p><p>But never has anyone reported the aggressive nature she experienced Monday, she said.</p><p>"They were trying to get at (my dog) past me. I had my big rain boots on and I was having to hit them" with a leash, she said. "They were raising their paws, they were growling and hissing. They were trying to attack her."</p><p>Lentz said she kicked the more aggressive animal at least five times as she was backing up to get into a neighbor's back yard.</p><p>Once through a wire fence, the cats followed Lentz and her dog up a steep incline farther into the back yard, she said.</p><p>"I'm not moving very fast. It's very steep, it's muddy, it's raining and it's wet and I'm slipping," she said. "I'm just a basket case."</p><p>She was through a second fence when the neighbor heard the commotion and came onto the back deck. The mountain lions stopped pursuing her when they saw the neighbors' three dogs, Lentz said.</p><p>The mountain lions then left the back yard and made their way toward the sidewalk on Mountain Hawk Way, she said.</p><p>The cats eventually ran away but were spotted later, she said.</p><p>"Another neighbor said they were on their porch," she said.</p><p>"If they would go after a 50-pound dog, they would go after a 40-pound kid," Lentz said.</p><p>Goldschlag estimated the cats were about 25 pounds each, but Lentz said they were closer to the size of her dog.</p><p>"The best thing to do is either go inside, or call 911," Goldschlag said. "Look as large as you can, make lots of noise."</p><p>Reports of mountain lions and other wildlife are "not uncommon" in the area because of its proximity to open space, Goldschlag said.</p><p>Staff Writer Kerry Benefield can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com</p>