A South Texas-based woman is warning folks not to let their small pets outside, claiming her wiener dog was swooped up by a hawk in her backyard.
A TikTok creator named Chelsea (@rawchelsea) uploaded a video posted about her experience in a duo of videos that have accumulated over 1 million combined views.
Chelsea begins her first video by somberly talking into the camera and stating that one of the “saddest things” has ever happened to her. Her morning started off like any other: she tending to her bills and putting her home affairs in order and had planned on heading out later to get some shopping done.
@rawchelsea See the video before this for a update! This was eye opening #fyp #wienerdog #saturday #dogmom #pintobean #crazyweek ♬ original sound – Rawchelsea
While she was taking care of business indoors, she decided to let her dogs out. One dog looks like a labrador, and the other is a small wiener dog named Pinto. After a few minutes of Pinto playing outside with her dog pal, Chelsea heard yelping and thought maybe the larger dog stepped on Pinto. Upon hearing the little pup’s cries, she rushed out into the backyard to see what was going on, and Pintowas gone.
The only evidence that was left was a broken flower pot and a little scratch mark left on the porch, leading her to believe that a hawk had swooped down and taken her pet. Both Wag! and PetMD state that while it is an uncommon occurrence, both hawks and owls can pick up, attack and fly away with small dogs.
It’s also highly unlikely that you’re going to be able to stop a hawk from swooping down and attacking your dog as these birds can travel up to 120mph. What makes things even more complicated is that even if you find your dog struggling to fend off a hawk or owl, it’s against federal and state laws to harm or kill such birds.
Chelsea says that she “looked and…looked” for Pinto, but couldn’t find them after the incident. While looking for the dog behind her house, she fell and “third-degree sprained” her ankle during her search.
“I just feel like I’ve completely let her down my poor sweet baby,” Chelsea said.
Chelsea cautioned other users on the platform to beware of allowing their small pets outdoors unattended for fear of them potentially being scooped by predatory birds.
“Now I have to go have a funeral with my 8-year-old son, for this sweet, sweet puppy. I feel like my heart’s been ripped out of my chest. I really thought she was gonna be in our family forever…for a really long time.”
Miracles do happen though, and in Pinto and Chelsea’s case, the puppy ended up being fine. The TikToker uploaded a second video showing her holding the dog after she spotted her and took her to the vet for any potential injuries. Pinto must’ve struggled free from the hawk’s grasp and thankfully the little pup didn’t have a single scratch on them.
“Update! She came home 8 hours later. We believe she was hiding in our yard somewhere. She didn’t have a single scratch and [is] perfectly fine!”
Chelsea said she heard the dog “scratching at the door” and appeared relieved to have Pinto back. The Daily Dot has reached out to Chelsea via TikTok comment for further information.
One commenter suggested that she get the small dog a “raptor vest,” which is a safety product designed to prevent claws/teeth from being able to penetrate a pet’s skin, protecting dogs from being carried away from birds of prey or, in this instance, being harmed or killed in a coyote attack.
