Saskatoon homeowner blames moose for broken window

A Saskatoon homeowner is dealing with two broken windowpanes in his front room after he says a moose cracked the glass, not once, but twice.

Craig Lapointe wasn’t home Tuesday afternoon, but all accounts point to a moose being on the loose in his East College Park neighbourhood.

He’s dog sitting Abby a 4-year-old Westy who doesn’t back down when she’s protecting her territory and likes to bark at anyone or anything that comes near the front window.

When Lapointe returned home to find two massive cracks in his front window, he put it together.

“Poor Abby, she’s saving us from the big animals,” Lapointe told CTV News.

He believes Abby stood her ground when a moose came toward the house.

Abby a 4-year-old Westy may have provoked a moose attack on a Saskatoon home. (Carla Shynkaruk/CTV News)

“I think maybe it was looking for something to eat and with her barking so strongly, that’s how the animal reacted against that window,” Lapointe said.

That’s a fair assessment according to wildlife researcher Ryan Brook, researcher in agriculture and bio resources, from the University of Saskatchewan who says, judging from the aggressive nature of the damage, it could’ve been a big deer, but likely a moose.

“If there was a pet, and in this case, there sounds like there was more than one pet, the animal may have hit more than once on purpose,” he estimates.

That other pet was Coco the cat, who Lapointe says, hasn’t willingly returned to the window since.

Brook says animals either engage flight or fight mode.

“Moose can be very aggressive. They’re big. Often the biggest animal around. They have a tendency, if they’re startled by animals or people, they may go on the offensive,” he says.

If a moose makes its way into the city it’s disorienting, according to Brook.

“They can go over and under just about anything in the wild and it’s a bit of a surprise when they come across a big structure and they can’t move,” he said.

Back on Trent Crescent, window repairs are in the works, but the massive cracks in the glass aren’t hampering Abby’s ability to be on the job and defend her space.