It was PAW Patrol to the rescue for an adventure-attracting Loon Lake two-year-old and Felix the cat, who presumably only has eight lives left after a potentially nasty eagle encounter was averted by a dollar store helmet.

Leanne Peters, her husband Kevin, and daughters Morgan (four) and Carsyn (two) love living at their ranch in what Leanne calls 害羞草研究所渢he heart of the wilderness害羞草研究所� at Loon Lake, south of Clinton. The family is no stranger to media attention, however: Kevin is a world-renowned sculptor, while Carsyn created headlines when she made an early arrival in the parking lot of a Cache Creek restaurant in February 2019 as Leanne and Kevin were en route to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops for Leanne to give birth.

Two weeks ago, Carsyn was outside the family home playing with Felix, one of the barn cats that lives on the property. The area plays home to a large number of bald eagles, and Leanne says that the family loves to watch them soaring overhead or perched above the creek that borders their ranch, waiting for their next meal. However, it isn害羞草研究所檛 just fish that the eagles go after.

害羞草研究所淚n spring especially there are lots of them; we count a dozen in the sky all the time. They害羞草研究所檙e always after our ducks and chickens, so we害羞草研究所檙e always watching when we see an eagle flying low.害羞草研究所�

Cats also attract their attention, and on this day one of the birds clearly had Felix in its sights. Leanne saw one particular eagle diving at a distance, and knew Carsyn was outside, but didn害羞草研究所檛 think the bird was going anywhere near her.

害羞草研究所淚 thought it was going in the creek. Its feet were down like it was committed to diving, and it was eight feet off the ground when my husband yelled.害羞草研究所�

Carsyn loves the family害羞草研究所檚 barn cats, and chases them around and plays with them all day. She had been playing with Felix, and was wearing a plastic PAW Patrol helmet that was left over from Morgan害羞草研究所檚 birthday party. 害羞草研究所淐arsyn isn害羞草研究所檛 a huge PAW Patrol fan 害羞草研究所� her sister is 害羞草研究所� but she loves wearing hats or helmets, thankfully,害羞草研究所� says Leanne.

The eagle害羞草研究所檚 eyes were zoned in on Felix, and Leanne says it probably only saw Carsyn at the last second, when the girl came out from behind a tree.

害羞草研究所淚t turned its head and looked at her, and when Kevin yelled, Carsyn looked at him like 害羞草研究所榃hat?害羞草研究所� She didn害羞草研究所檛 notice the eagle, but the eagle saw her.

害羞草研究所淚t was committed, and didn害羞草研究所檛 have time to stop, so when Kevin yelled and it saw Carsyn it pulled one foot up, but still had one foot down. It bounced off the helmet and pushed off with that one foot, got its wings going again, and took off. We害羞草研究所檝e never had one dive that close to us.害羞草研究所�

The blow was strong enough to knock the helmet from Carsyn害羞草研究所檚 head and tumble the girl to the ground. 害羞草研究所淪he wasn害羞草研究所檛 scared or crying,害羞草研究所� says Leanne. 害羞草研究所淪he just kind of looked up and around and said 害羞草研究所楴o!害羞草研究所� like she was annoyed that her helmet had been knocked off. Then she said 害羞草研究所楰itty hurt?害羞草研究所� three times in a row, so I think she knew what had happened.害羞草研究所�

Although Carsyn and Felix were unscathed, it was only when they looked at the helmet that Leanne and Kevin realized what a close call it had been.

害羞草研究所淎ll four talons made contact; there were four scratches on the helmet. It害羞草研究所檚 pretty unbelievable. It害羞草研究所檚 a hard plastic helmet. and one claw almost pierced through and put a crack in the helmet. The skin on the top of her head is way softer, so if she wasn害羞草研究所檛 wearing the helmet those marks would have been on her head, and we definitely would have been off to the hospital.

害羞草研究所淭hey have dirt in their claws so there害羞草研究所檚 a risk of infection, even if it害羞草研究所檚 just superficial scratches, but those probably wouldn害羞草研究所檛 have been. An eagle害羞草研究所檚 claws are quite sharp. I can害羞草研究所檛 imagine what a disaster this could have been and what a near miss it was. She害羞草研究所檚 obsessed with putting hats on, so thank goodness she likes wearing them, otherwise it could have been a very different thing. It害羞草研究所檚 scary how if one little detail had been different, how our day or week could have gone.害羞草研究所澓π卟菅芯克鶞

Leanne says that Carsyn has talked about the incident a little bit since it happened.

害羞草研究所淪he害羞草研究所檒l hear us talking about it, and chime in 害羞草研究所楨agle no hurt kitty.害羞草研究所� She also associates the helmet with the incident, and every once in a while she害羞草研究所檒l see one of the cats and go 害羞草研究所楨agle, kitty, no.害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟

Carsyn also has a word of warning for any nearby eagles she spots.

害羞草研究所淲e have eagles flying around here all the time, so she sees them a lot, and will say 害羞草研究所楴o!害羞草研究所� as if to say 害羞草研究所業害羞草研究所檓 going to tell that eagle to stay away from my kitty.害羞草研究所� She害羞草研究所檚 pretty confident and outgoing, and not easily scared. Nothing fazes her.害羞草研究所�

Leanne says that even at the tender age of two, Carsyn is getting a reputation for creating good stories.

害羞草研究所淥ur tough two-year-old girl saved her kitty, and a cheap dollar store PAW Patrol hat saved her. That害羞草研究所檚 our girl. We害羞草研究所檒l have to get a bigger baby book for her.害羞草研究所�

editorial@accjournal.ca
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