SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A 12-week-old puppy is lucky to be alive after an owl swooped down and snatched the dog out of her family’s backyard and dropped her on a golf course. Like a scene out of a horror film, the owl abducted the puppy, Latte, in northern Scottsdale on Friday, Melissa Gable, chief engagement officer for Foothills Animal Rescue, told Patch on Tuesday.

The puppy’s foster mom, Bonnie Ziegler, had let her four dogs out around 3:30 a.m. Friday to relieve themselves. Ziegler lives in northern Scottsdale and is used to watching for predators — on the ground. The area is known to have coyotes and bobcats. But aerial predators? Not so much. Particularly not for an 11-pound pup that the rescue thinks is a mix between a Great Pyrenees and a St. Bernard.

Latte ran around the side of the house. Three puppies came back, but Latte did not.

“She didn’t make a noise. None of them did,” Gable said.

“It was as if she just vanished,” Ziegler said in a press release. “We immediately started searching and soon our neighbors joined in. We posted a notice on Next Door (a neighborhood social network app) in the hopes someone might find her.”

The owl carried Latte to Troon Golf Course and dropped her. Golfers eventually found the puppy nearly 12 hours later near the 16th hole. She was under a tree, weak and dehydrated, Gable said. She’d suffered puncture wounds on her head and neck.

“Because she had been out in the elements for nearly 12 hours and was bleeding, flies had landed on her and laid eggs in her ears,” Gable said.

But X-rays showed the dog didn’t suffer any broken bones. While her lungs didn’t collapse, the pressure from the owl’s talons have caused some issues. She’s still coughing.

“Incredibly, Latte survived and after a weekend at the emergency veterinary clinic, she is back with her foster family and doing well,” the organization wrote.

Latte is expected to recover fully within two to three weeks, Gable said. The dog’s weight and fluffiness likely saved her life.

“She’s pretty fluffy,” said Gable.

The vet has asked the foster to monitor Latte for maggots, which take a little while to hatch.

Now, the group is raising money to help cover her vet bills, which could climb to $4,500. The account has raised more than $5,000 so far. The puppy will stay in foster care for a few more weeks.

“Latte may have an adopter, but if she should need a home, we will announce it on this page (along with updates on her recovery),” the group wrote.

Foothills Animal Rescue is an animal protection and welfare organization based in Scottsdale.

Click Here: brisbane lions guernsey 2019