WATCH | Eastern Washington couple finds 2 cougars in backyard

LINCOLN, Wash. (KOMO) - An Eastern Washington couple found quite a surprise in their backyard Tuesday morning: not one, but two cougars.

"I thought it was the neighbor's dog and when I looked up, we stared at each other and I realized it was most definitely not my neighbor's dog," said Yvonne Reppe.

She said she was working out around 5:30 a.m. in her basement at her home in Lincoln, along Lake Roosevelt, when she saw a female cougar come around the corner from their front yard.

"She turned a little to the right and that's when the male had come down our yard and joined her," said Reppe.

Reppe said she watched the animals for a few minutes, snapped some photos, then ran upstairs to get her husband.

"We sat and watched them for a while and took videos and just enjoyed how magnificent they were," she said.

Reppe said she hadn't seen a cougar in the area in several years.

"We hear them at night on the patio, but we've never seen one in our yard, it's not common to see them," she said.

Reppe said the animals stayed for a little while, then continued their stroll across the backyard and walked away.

"They have no interest in us. They were just passing through and I just happened to be lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time," she said.