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 B次元官网网址渢he heart of the wildernessB次元官网网址� 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 isnB次元官网网址檛 just fish that the eagles go after.

B次元官网网址淚n spring especially there are lots of them; we count a dozen in the sky all the time. TheyB次元官网网址檙e always after our ducks and chickens, so weB次元官网网址檙e always watching when we see an eagle flying low.B次元官网网址�

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 didnB次元官网网址檛 think the bird was going anywhere near her.

B次元官网网址淚 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.B次元官网网址�

Carsyn loves the familyB次元官网网址檚 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 MorganB次元官网网址檚 birthday party. B次元官网网址淐arsyn isnB次元官网网址檛 a huge PAW Patrol fan B次元官网网址� her sister is B次元官网网址� but she loves wearing hats or helmets, thankfully,B次元官网网址� says Leanne.

The eagleB次元官网网址檚 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.

B次元官网网址淚t turned its head and looked at her, and when Kevin yelled, Carsyn looked at him like B次元官网网址榃hat?B次元官网网址� She didnB次元官网网址檛 notice the eagle, but the eagle saw her.

B次元官网网址淚t was committed, and didnB次元官网网址檛 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. WeB次元官网网址檝e never had one dive that close to us.B次元官网网址�

The blow was strong enough to knock the helmet from CarsynB次元官网网址檚 head and tumble the girl to the ground. B次元官网网址淪he wasnB次元官网网址檛 scared or crying,B次元官网网址� says Leanne. B次元官网网址淪he just kind of looked up and around and said B次元官网网址楴o!B次元官网网址� like she was annoyed that her helmet had been knocked off. Then she said B次元官网网址楰itty hurt?B次元官网网址� three times in a row, so I think she knew what had happened.B次元官网网址�

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.

B次元官网网址淎ll four talons made contact; there were four scratches on the helmet. ItB次元官网网址檚 pretty unbelievable. ItB次元官网网址檚 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 wasnB次元官网网址檛 wearing the helmet those marks would have been on her head, and we definitely would have been off to the hospital.

B次元官网网址淭hey have dirt in their claws so thereB次元官网网址檚 a risk of infection, even if itB次元官网网址檚 just superficial scratches, but those probably wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have been. An eagleB次元官网网址檚 claws are quite sharp. I canB次元官网网址檛 imagine what a disaster this could have been and what a near miss it was. SheB次元官网网址檚 obsessed with putting hats on, so thank goodness she likes wearing them, otherwise it could have been a very different thing. ItB次元官网网址檚 scary how if one little detail had been different, how our day or week could have gone.B次元官网网址滲次元官网网址�

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

B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檒l hear us talking about it, and chime in B次元官网网址楨agle no hurt kitty.B次元官网网址� She also associates the helmet with the incident, and every once in a while sheB次元官网网址檒l see one of the cats and go B次元官网网址楨agle, kitty, no.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

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

B次元官网网址淲e have eagles flying around here all the time, so she sees them a lot, and will say B次元官网网址楴o!B次元官网网址� as if to say B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 going to tell that eagle to stay away from my kitty.B次元官网网址� SheB次元官网网址檚 pretty confident and outgoing, and not easily scared. Nothing fazes her.B次元官网网址�

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

B次元官网网址淥ur tough two-year-old girl saved her kitty, and a cheap dollar store PAW Patrol hat saved her. ThatB次元官网网址檚 our girl. WeB次元官网网址檒l have to get a bigger baby book for her.B次元官网网址�

editorial@accjournal.ca
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