Cougar in Gaylordsville

Most mornings at about 5:30 I hook my 100 lb Doberman to my bike with a Springer attachment, and we go for a 5 mile ride before I go to work. I almost always follow the same route, which travels the full length of a dirt road known as Mud Pond Rd. In the past, we have seen 2 bears on this road and lots of deer. This morning, riding in the dark with a headlight, my dog surged forward as we approached Mud Pond. About 30 yards ahead, illuminated by my headlight, I saw a large animal on the right side of the road. As it crossed the road ahead of us, I could see that it was about as tall as my Doberman, but a lot longer. The long tail was the final clue. As it crossed, we were coming toward it, and by the time it reached the brush on the left side of the road, we were probably about 20 yards from it. In the past, I have practiced with a bow at a distance of 20 yards, so I'm a pretty good judge of that particular distance. As we reached the place where it had crossed, I looked to my left and saw it sitting on a stone wall about 10 yards away from us. It was looking at us as we passed. There is nothing that I know of that looks like a sitting cat, except a sitting cat. In my headlight it appeared a grey color, but it was full night and colors are pretty washed out. Judging by my Doberman, I'm guessing that the animal was somewhere between 80 and 120 lbs. He must have been just crossing the road. I'm glad he wasn't hunting. submitted by John G Cowan