When Joel Anstett let his large beagle out in the backyard of his home in Ashcroft, BC, earlier this month, he thought it would just be another late-night pee for his canine friend, Apollo. He did not expect the traumatic events that followed. “All of a sudden, I heard a loud thud and it sounded like my dog ​​… like the wind was knocked out of him,” Anstett told CBC’s Daybreak Kamloops. “I heard a little yelp and it sounded like my dog ​​passed out,” she continued. “I ran over there and turned on my cellphone light — and I noticed there was a big cat on top of it.” Unsure what kind of feline it was, Anstett went into battle mode to save his dog and ended up with injuries all over his hands and arms.
The BC Conservation Officer Service confirmed it was a bobcat, the first the service has spotted in Ashcroft this year. Bobcat sightings were rare in the Thompson area. Local conservation officers say they have not seen the species in Ashcroft for more than a decade.

Rare bobcat collision

Anstett said he didn’t hesitate to protect Apollo from the bobcat, which he says was twice the size of his dog. “I jumped over the cat,” he said. “I tried to force my forearm around his neck, but every time I did, he kept biting me and turning his head.” “[The cat] he bit me on the forearm… he bit my fingers, he bit my other index finger he can [now] I can barely move.” Joel Anstet was left with injuries to his arms and hands after saving his dog, Apollo, from a bobcat. (Submitted by Joel Anstett) He said the bite on his forearm went down to the bone and Apollo was bitten five times. Anstett said he kept yelling for help, but it was pitch black and his neighbors had probably all gone to bed. After noticing Apollo had run off, Anstet said he picked up the bobcat and threw it over a tall fence in his neighbor’s yard. Anstet said he could still hear the cat hissing and screeching as it ran along the fence, so he rushed back to his house. Once inside, she noticed his wounds. He immediately went to the Royal Inland Hospital, where he was stitched up and told he needed a series of rabies shots.

Precautions against bobcats

Anstett has installed lights in his yard and says he’ll be walking Apollo from now on with some kind of weapon to ward off predators. Kamloops-based conservation officer Jared Conatty, who investigated Anstet’s case, said his colleagues set a trap in the backyard but were unable to catch the bobcat from the July 20 attack. Connatty said it’s unusual to see a bobcat in a residential neighborhood like Anstett’s. “Wrong place, wrong time for all parties,” he said. “We certainly don’t expect to encounter these types of wild animals when you live in these types of places.” The Conservation Service asks people to make sure there are no bobcat attractants in their yards and to always keep their dogs on leashes. Anyone who spots wildlife in or around communities is asked to report it through the Conservation Service’s 24-hour hotline at 1-877-952-7277. Daybreak Kamloops10:21 Ashcroft man shares story of saving his dog from a bobcat An incredible story of survival. We spoke with an Ashcroft man who managed to save his dog from a bobcat and lived to tell the tale.