PHOENIX — An Ahwatukee man is thankful his furry friend didn't become dinner to roaming bobcats in his neighborhood.
The pet owner, Allen Gobel, says the bobcat sightings are becoming more common.
It's a scary situation for Gobel and his Yorkies. One of them, Sandy, was attacked by a bobcat just this past weekend.
"I came out of the house, the cat was sitting up on the block wall right here," Gobel said.
He walked us through his backyard, where the roughly three foot long bobcat was preying on his pets.
"She's got stitches on her neck and probably 8-10 puncture wounds on her body," he added.
Sandy, the 4-year old pup, was playing outside when she was attacked.
"The vet said that the dog was a good fighter and I already knew that because she's taken on a lot of dogs that are a lot bigger than her," he told 12 News.
Gobel says after 24 years in this same neighborhood he's never seen a bobcat, but others in the same area have noticed an increase in sightings.
"One of the neighbors were telling me there were three bobcats roaming in the park over on Frye near the church over there," he said.
Several people think the new construction from the freeway is keeping the cats from finding food. At this point Gobel just wants everyone, especially his neighbors with kids, to be aware of the sightings.
"That was one of my first concerns. I let them know right away because they have a treehouse and that would be a nice place for a bobcat to hang out," he said.
Plus, he says these bobcats aren't spooked by much of anything.
"He was afraid of anything not at all, I was within three feet of him and I could've reached my arm up and hit him on the fence and he wasn't moving," he added.
He tells us because Sandy's injuries are so severe, the vet says she's looking at significant care until she recovers
Noble has set up a GoFundMe page if you'd like to help him out.