DJ2,

Greetings to Seattle. My family settled in Kalama in 1889, and I am a third generation Husky.

As for mountain lions. They are definitely out there, but my encounters can only be described as fleeting. In 2007 at Steens Mountain, OR I only saw a flash of tawny yellow fur, before my sorrel mule Badger started to snort in the dirt and pitch me skyward. A few weeks ago, driving back to Lake Davis, CA I got a much better look from the truck window in the early sun's rays of morning. The big cat ran across the road at a lope and disappeared into the ponderosa pines.