Woman comes home and finds stranger getting cozy on her couch

She couldn’t believe who it was. No Images? [Click here]( July 18, 2018 Good morning! Today we have a mountain lion who surprised a homeowner, a tortoise who led cops on a chase and a runaway dog whose mugshot went viral. 1. Woman Comes Home And Finds Stranger Getting Cozy On Her Couch Photo Credit: Facebook/Lauren Taylor Last Sunday night, Oregon resident Lauren Taylor entered her living room — and was met with quite the unusual surprise. A pair of yellow-brown eyes was staring up at her from behind the couch. It was a mountain lion. Apparently, someone had left the back door open, and the curious cat had wandered right in after drinking from a fountain in the yard. Taylor’s housemate noticed the animal first and shrieked, causing the lion to retreat behind the couch. Taylor, who has previously worked in wildlife rescue and also practices energy healing, knew they’d have to give the cat a lot of space and remain calm to encourage her to leave safely. Taylor saw the lion lie down, so she quietly went outside to keep watch through the window. To her surprise, the lion was fast asleep. Photo Credit: Facebook/Lauren Taylor “[Originally] the lion was frightened, agitated and determined to exit through a closed window,” Taylor wrote on Facebook. “Once the energy shifted, she calmed down.” As the minutes passed on, and Taylor remained outside, the lion continued to sleep. Eventually she woke up and noticed the human staring in at her. Taylor began blinking slowly at her — which in feline body language signifies that you pose no threat. “I gazed lovingly, then blinked hard and then she did it back,” Taylor said. “Then, she went back to sleep.” Taylor remained outside for nearly six more hours as the lion continued napping behind the couch. “It was just a couple hours to dawn and we needed to prompt her to leave without alarming her so much that she panicked,” Taylor said. She and her housemates slowly opened a few more doors and started lightly tapping a drum from a safe vantage point at the top of the stairs. As quick as the lion came, she left. “She roused and knew just what to do,” Taylor said. “[She walked] through the open doors, through the yard, across the creek and through the empty field behind us, exactly as we had shown her.” Despite the lion’s clear signs of being comfortable in Taylor’s home, she’s certain that the animal was just passing through. There have been wildfires in the area recently, and it’s likely that’s what pushed her to wander into the neighborhood. The humbling experience, though, is one that Taylor won’t soon forget. “I am hopeful and confident this cougar will not be back,” Taylor said. “It was a perfect ending to a blessed encounter that could have been dangerous if approached from a lower frequency [of energy]. May she stay safely in the hills to enjoy a long life as a wild and healthy lion.” 2. 'Grandpa' Tortoise Leads Cop On Slowest Chase Ever Photo Credit: Marion County Sheriff's Office It seems like nearly everybody's in a hurry these days, running around in this fast-paced world. But here's an old-timer who's unapologetic about his love of taking it slow. Deputy Bryan Bowman, of Florida's Marion County Sheriff's Office, was on patrol over the weekend when he encountered this large tortoise moseying along at a very leisurely pace. Normally, this would be no problem at all, of course — but this particular fellow had chosen to do so in the middle of a road. Bowman reportedly tried to usher the tortoise off the street, but the "grandpa" snapped at him. Even after that bit of unpleasantness, Bowman kept the tortoise safe by following him slowly in his car. The slow-speed pursuit was actually saving the tortoise's life by protecting him from faster-moving traffic. (It's unclear what species he was exactly, but Florida is home to gopher tortoises, which are a protected species.) And in the end, it all paid off. "Deputy Bowman then just followed the old man for about 20 minutes until he finally went into the woods," the sheriff's office wrote online. "Thanks to Deputy Bowman for catching this wild encounter on tape and for sharing it with us!!" 3. Delinquent Dog Gets 'Pugshot' After Being Picked Up By Police Photo Credit: Cape May Police Department Crime doesn't pay, as the saying goes. But to be honest, in this case, the photo that resulted sort of did make it all worthwhile. On Sunday, the Cape May Police Department in New Jersey received reports of delinquency in progress. Turns out, a little pug had somehow escaped from her owners and was galavanting about the neighborhood, carefree and unattended. A criminal mastermind she was not. "Our officer went down and found the dog, picked her up and brought her back to the station," Anthony Marino, Cape May Police chief, told The Dodo. That's where the dog got a mugshot — or "pugshot," if you will. The little pup had hit rock bottom — and she seemed to know it. Her mischievous ways had caused her to become thoroughly lost. But, thankfully, authorities at the station had a plan. "They decided to take her mugshot to get her picture out on social media in kind of a humorous way," Marino said. "We wanted to find the owner, because at that point we had no idea who the owner was." In the meantime, the pug perp was given a quiet place to think about what she'd done. Photo Credit: Cape May Police Department After the dog's mugshot was posted to Facebook, captioned with the warning, "This is what happens when you run away from home," it began going viral. Before long, it received thousands of likes and shares. Wouldn't you know it — that did the trick. "We use social media a lot. It’s a great way to reach a lot of people. You can reach a ton of people. It’s a great way for us to get investigative leads," Marino said. "And sure enough, someone who saw the Facebook post knew the dog’s owner and got in touch with them. We were able to reunite the dog and her owner. Everyone found it funny, but it ended up finding the owner for us." The dog, whose name is Bean, is now resting comfortably at home, hopefully having learned the error of her way. Hedgehog And His Mom Are Perfect For One Another [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( The Dodo 100 Crosby St., 201 New York, NY 10012 [Forward]( [Unsubscribe](