[FEL-L] Chickasaw County - Escaped pet tiger mauls dog, is shot by deputy

[BigCatSimba at aol.com]

Chickasaw County - Escaped pet tiger mauls dog, is shot by deputy 
By TOM ALEX • REGISTER STAFF WRITER • November 16, 2007 
The Chickasaw County sheriff and his deputies found themselves face to face 
with a tiger this week.

Sheriff Marty Larsen said the deputy who shot and killed a tiger near the 
northeast Iowa town of New Hampton on Wednesday afternoon had no choice but to 
open fire.

"We couldn't think of any other way to corral a tiger," said Larsen. 
The drama began about 3 p.m. when the tiger rushed past its owner at feeding 
time and escaped from its cage. Larsen and two deputies rushed to Joseph and 
Dawn Schmitt's home in rural New Hampton.

"I'd never seen it before, but I knew it was out there," the sheriff said of 
the tiger. The couple keep several animals on their property, including 
cougars, a bear, some birds and horses, he said.

"When we arrived, the owner, Dawn Schmitt, was outside, and the tiger was on 
top of a collie. 
"She was trying to call off the tiger because the collie was being mauled. 
Poor dog. It was so scared. It ran to our cars, and the tiger chased it up to 
the deputy's car," the sheriff said.

Deputy Reed Palo shot the tiger through a partially opened window of his 
vehicle.

Asked what kind of tiger it was, Larsen said, "I don't know. Bengal, I guess."

He said he believes the tiger was a juvenile, "but appeared to be pretty much 
full grown."

The dog is going to survive, the sheriff said. "She took it to a vet. The dog 
is OK. It drew a lot of blood. Mostly superficial wounds, though." 
Earlier this year, the Iowa Legislature passed a law regulating exotic and 
wild animals in Iowa, said Dustin Vande Hoef, a spokesman for the Iowa 
Department of Agriculture. Those who already owned the animals can keep them, provided 
they obtain $100,000 in liability insurance, have a chip or electronic 
identification implanted in the animals, and register them with the Iowa Department 
of Agriculture by Dec. 31. However, the law prevents Iowans from legally owning 
new exotic and wild animals. 
Tammy Quist, director of the Wildcat Sanctuary at Sandstone, Minn., said 
private ownership of exotic cats has reached epidemic proportions.

"You can buy a Bengal tiger at a truck stop. You can find them advertised for 
$500 and sometimes 'free to a good home,' " she said. "It's just astonishing 
how many backyard breeders there are."

Dawn Schmitt declined to speak to a newspaper reporter Thursday. 
_http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071116/NEWS01/7
11160399_ 
(http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071116/NEWS01/711160399) 



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