My husband Chuck and I have been residents of Fern Valley for 13 years. We have a small 3-1⁄2-pound Yorkshire Terrier dog.

We are well aware of the environment in which we live and do everything we can to protect her. We never let her out in our small enclosed back yard area without being with her.

We have deer, raccoons, coyotes, mountain lions, bob cats, owls, snakes and hawks in our area. All of which have been in our yard at one time or another. So, the only time our little Molly goes outside is to do her “business” or when we have her on a short leash.

Saturday afternoon in our little back yard, she was attacked by a large hawk, with me standing within eight feet of her.

I did my best to kick the hawk several times trying to make it let her go but it continued to drag her. They were rolling on the ground.

I was screaming, of course Chuck ran to assist. I was screaming, Molly was crying out and the hawk was screeching. It was a traumatic scene.

All of a sudden this man jumps into our little back yard and calls the hawk off.

You can only imagine our shock when we found this was his “pet” and had been brought to our neighborhood by a renter from the flatlands. Someone actually thought it was okay to bring a bird of prey to our Hill and then turn it out to “hunt” or stretch it sizable wings.

The gentleman was most apologetic, saying he had no idea how many little dogs there were on the Hill and that the hawk would not have killed our little dog. I could not tell that by the way it was on my dog.

He was concerned about our dog, stayed and gave us his email. When he left, I am sure he did not realize the trauma he left behind.

We were left incredulous that someone thinks it was okay to let a bird of prey loose in a residential neighborhood, no matter how far from the city we are.

Little Molly was bleeding a little bit at her nose, but otherwise at first exam did not appear too injured. Little did we realize until later that she actually did have numerous scratches and was so traumatized, that she was in shock.

We called the emergency vet and knowledgeable friends for advice. Shock can be more dangerous than outward injuries to such a small critter. We did what was advised: keeping her warm and monitored.

Our purpose in writing is to warn owners of small pets that live or visit our peaceful little village that there are dangers beyond our own wildlife. This hawk came out of the sky like a bullet. Neither Molly nor I saw it coming, it was so fast.

We have people who think it is perfectly sensible to bring “prey animals” to our Hill and let them roam.

Please watch your pets. We are such a dog-friendly community, to see that threatened is beyond words.

If the gentleman reads this [letter], I hope he realizes that we have hawks on the Hill, we do not need to have them imported.

There are wilderness areas throughout Southern California that would be much more appropriate for his pet.

Vicki Streeter
Fern Valley