Brandon and Sydney Thompson live on the first farm on the right as you leave Dayville, Oregon heading west.  They have four children.  In August 2022 their two youngest, ages 9 and 11, were playing with chalk on the sidewalk in front of their house.

Suddenly there was an explosion of noise as their three dogs erupted into activity on the front porch.  The two frightened children burst through the door into the room.

"What's wrong?" Brandon asked.

"C ... c ... cougar!" was the answer.

A dog came in, too, leaving blood everywhere.  A cougar had been creeping up on the unsuspecting children when the dogs saved the day.  Nearly two years later the children still have nightmares about the event, but not as frequently as before.

Brandon called the Department of Fish and Wildlife.  A man was sent with dogs that are trained to track cougars.  The John Day River is in Brandon's back yard.  The dogs led them down the river.  Conditions were very dry due to the drought, and the man with the dogs was afraid they wouldn't be able to follow the scent.  But soon Brandon pointed up in a tree and said, "Look at that!"

There was a cougar, but his companion was pointing to another tree and saying, "Look at that!"

There was a second cougar.  Brandon's companion shot his cougar, which dropped to the ground, and was dispatched with a second shot.

Brandon then shot his cougar.  It hit the ground, ran into some bushes, ricocheted off, and headed right back for Brandon.  It dropped at Brandon's feet when he fired a second shot.

The cougars were a year and a half old, thin, and hungry.

Thank goodness for the dogs--all of them.