Fairfax County wildlife getting wilder all the time

About a year ago, as we were getting ready to turn in, Mrs.Paco and I heard an unusual noise coming from outside, a sort of raspy, yowling whine. We looked at each other quizzically, and said, more or less simultaneously, "Was that a cat?" The sound did put me in mind of a cat, but not your basic Tom. We didn't think much about it until a couple of days later, when we began getting emails from the neighborhood association about a couple of cougar sightings. I figured, "Nah, maybe a bobcat, but surely not a cougar."

And now I see this: "There have been two reports of early morning sightings of a large cat - possibly a cougar - near a Fairfax County elementary school."

Guess I'll have to start packing heat on my neighborhood walks.