People knowing the mascot of my DVM alma mater may assume that I’m actually writing something about one of their sports teams. Or perhaps a threat against WSU alumni who commonly refer to themselves as “Cougars” or “Cougs”.

What I’m really writing about is politics.

Washington Senator Cheryl Pflug (R. Maple Valley) wants to make it legal in Washington to hunt cougars with dogs. This moderately barbaric process involves chasing said wild cat through the bush with, ironically (you’ll see why in a minute) one to several dogs, cornering it in a tree and shooting it.

Why do you do this? Strictly for the trophy. The skin, the head, what have you can be displayed on the proud hunter’s wall as a testament to his testosterone.
Now for the record I am an unashamed carnivore. I support careful hunting of wildlife for the purposes of providing food. I wish I could be so honest about my meat habit.
Cougar hunting is just done for “sport”. No one eats cougar meat. The dogs might get some, I don’t know, but more likely the corpse is skinned, beheaded and left to rot. “Sport”.

Why does Senator Pflug want to make cougar hunting legal in Washington? Well, because she lives in a rural location and her own dog was killed by a wild cat.
I know the DVM to whom she took the dog’s corpse for an opinion of what killed him. Said DVM is a 20+ year veteran in the field and has worked several years in urban emergency medicine which can get pretty dang ugly at times. She said that she wasn’t sure what killed the Senator’s dog, a cougar or a bear were her guesses. Regardless of what killed the dog she said it was one of the more gruesome things she’s ever seen. Fish and Wildlife officials say it is more likely that the dog was killed by a bobcat.

Senator Pflug’s crusade gets my knickers in a twist for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, her dog was killed by a bobcat, not a cougar, and HE WAS IN THE BOBCAT’S TERRITORY. Domestic mammals living in an area where wild carnivores do (or have been known to) live ARE LIVING WALKING TARGETS. If Senator Pflug managed to overlook or ignore the possibility that she’d have wildlife around her when she moved out into the sticks, shame on her. If the Senator isn’t willing to put up with the risks of losing pets (she should be grateful it wasn’t a child) to predators when she CHOSE to live in a rural location, she shouldn’t be living there. Move to a condo in Belltown, Senator.

Secondly, Senator Pflug is using her position as a Washington State Senator to push legislation in response to a personal vendetta. If you don’t think that she is misusing her position in doing this, I’d like to know why.

And third, Senator Pflug wants Washington state residents to be able to hunt cougars with dogs, thus putting the dogs at risk of coming in contact with a seriously pissed off, large, wild cat. Senator Pflug wants people to be able to put their dogs in danger of being killed and eaten because her dog was killed and eaten. Ironic? Circular logic? Perhaps just plain stupid. You tell me.

Do me a favor. If any of you happen to live in Senator Pflug’s district, when she’s up for re-election next time vote for someone else!
And if you happen to see anyone out with a petition regarding cougar hunting, please refuse to sign it.