Unexpected Encounter: Mountain Lion Enters Southern California Home, Confronts Resident

A family in La Verne, Calif., is raising awareness after an unexpected mountain lion wandered into their home. The front door had been left open, allowing the large feline to enter.

Residents of La Verne, California, are now being advised to keep a lookout for such wildlife. The neighborhood isn’t typically close to mountain or forest areas. Some neighbors remarked that there were children’s parties occurring nearby as the mountain lion roved the area.

Jeff Tenney was in the kitchen of his mother’s house on Saturday afternoon when the big cat just strolled in.

“Then out of the corner of my eye, I hear and see and feel the large presence,” he said.

Tenney says the moment only lasted a second, but he was standing a few feet away from a potentially ferocious wild animal.

“Peaked around the corner of the dining room, and we locked eyes for a moment, and I knew it was a lion,” Tenney said.

That moment only lasted a second because the mountain lion wasn’t interested in remaining a house cat and instead, darted out the back door.

Tenney recounted, “When it spotted me, it dashed through the screen out back with a thunderous sound, like boom! It then went into the pool and over the fence.”

The mountain lion even popped a pool float during its daring escape out of the backyard.

Then, Tenney ran out front.

“I wasn’t scared. I was generally just, ultimately thinking about my dog, who was in the front yard,” he said.

The incident happened during the afternoon, while Tenney’s 13-year-old dog, Bandit, was enjoying a nap in the front yard. Remarkably, the mountain lion didn’t notice Bandit, nor did Bandit see the mountain lion; he simply continued to sleep.

“He was dozing right here on the front lawn, snoozing away. By the time I got out here, he had risen and was wandering around, like he caught a whiff of something, but he didn’t see the mountain lion. The lion came down the driveway, getting pretty close to him, yet they both remained oblivious to each other’s presence,” Tenney explained.

The incident took place in the middle of the Rancho La Verne neighborhood, which isn’t right next to the foothills. This prompted Tenney to share his experience and the footage of the mountain lion entering the house, urging neighbors to stay vigilant.

“We have the Ring camera footage to notify the community. There were lots of kids running around that day, lots of parties going on, so we wanted to make sure we have that footage and alert the community,” Tenney said.

In case you’re curious, the front door was open in the first place for Bandit to go in and out of the house as he pleased. But now, Bandit won’t be sunbathing in the front yard for the foreseeable future.

So far, no other neighbors have spotted the mountain lion.