When Stacy Goss saw a huge bald eagle gawking over her pet, Gnocchi, she blurted out a simple question: ‘What the hell?’
In a video posted on March 15, the massive bird was seen perched on a piece of outdoor furniture as it peered into Stacy’s home through a window.
Gnocchi, sitting on the other side of the glass, was riled up and frightened by the creature’s presence.
The dog growled at the eagle before squealing and jumping onto the couch to get away from it.
Meanwhile, Stacy and her husband Jim, both intrigued, discussed the animal stalking their family room.
‘There’s a bald eagle on our deck,’ she exclaimed after letting out a gasp. ‘Does it want to eat Gnocchi?’
‘Probably. It would if he went outside,’ her husband replied in a calm and matter-of-fact tone.
A Washington mother captured unsettling footage of a bald eagle that starred down her dog and family for more than a day
Stacy Goss (pictured with her family) documented her experiences with a huge bald eagle lurking outside her home for more than a day
They pointed out the bald eagle was tagged, meaning a wildlife agency, such as the National Parks Service (NPS), was keeping track of it for research purposes, according to the NPS website.
Stacy shifted focus back to her dog’s wellbeing, asking if the bird could carry Gnocchi away.
‘Gnocchi that bird wants to eat you,’ Stacy playfully said as the dog leaped to join her on the couch.
The couple wondered if the eagle was hurt, but in an Instagram update, Stacy confirmed that was not the case.
She said a wildlife agency came to check on the eagle and said there was nothing wrong with it.
‘Game and wildlife came out. It’s NOT hurt, likely ate a deer (their words) and it makes them basically unable to fly for 24-48 hours,’ she wrote.
Stacy clarified she and Jeff were ‘never in fear of Gnocchi flying away’ and they were ‘half joking’ in their video commentary.
‘We are beyond thankful for the experience,’ she said, adding she facetime called her grandson to show him their unexpected guest and he ‘loved it.’
She said a wildlife agency came to check on the eagle and said there was nothing wrong with it
Stacy, who has more than 17,000 Instagram followers, received more than 830,000 likes and 16,300 comments on her original bald eagle video.
She posted a few follow up photos and videos, showing the bird perched in various places around her property.
Based on her most recent photo, featuring the bird flying off, it appears the bald eagle is no longer lurking around and has not returned since the more than 24 hours spent by her home.
‘What a cool experience!’ one Instagram user reacted to the eagle ordeal.
‘Thank you for respecting this majestic creature. You are so blessed I would have died and gone to heaven if I saw this,’ another woman wrote.
In a comical reaction to Gnocchi being afraid of the bird, someone wrote: ‘The dog said “not today!!!”’
Bald eagles are relatively common and present year-round in Washington, particularly in the Puget Sound region, which is where Stacy’s family lives, according to her Instagram post.
Regarding if the eagle was actually able to eat Gnocchi, expert perspectives reveal that possibility was highly unlikely
Stacy said she is grateful for the experience and feels lucky to have seen the bird, even though it spooked her dog
‘On a wide-open beach, I have no doubt that an eagle with a full head of steam could pick up a six- or eight-pound dog and just keep on going,’ Biologist Ron Clarke told the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
‘If it landed to kill a 10-pounder, and then tried to pick up and fly from a dead stop, could it get off the ground? Probably not.
‘It gets exaggerated. Eagles don’t hunt cats and small dogs.’
Bald eagles are considered ‘opportunistic feeders,’ meaning they eat whatever is available to them, although their diet mostly consists of fish, according to the National Zoo.
But they may also hunt of tiny mammals such as rabbits, squirrels and muskrats. They are also known to search for and consume roadkill deer.