Family's 'Angel' dog saves boy from cougar attack

Dark Knight

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(CNN) -- One lucky boy in Canada can say without a doubt that he has his own personal guardian angel -- not of the spiritual kind, but of the furry.


An 18-month old golden retriever saved her owner from being attacked by a cougar in the backyard of their home Saturday in Boston Bar, British Columbia, located about 130 miles north of Vancouver.


The brave dog -- ironically named Angel -- leaped into action and threw herself between her owner, 11-year-old Austin Forman, and the wildcat that was charging at him while he collected wood from his family's backyard.


With no hesitation Angel ran to protect her best friend.


"The dog obviously knew that something was up because she ran towards me just at the right time and the cougar ended up getting her instead," the boy explained.
CTV News reported the dog suffered wounds to her face, neck and legs, and her eye and underwent surgery for the wounds.


For now, Angel appears to be in good spirits while she recovers at the Animal Hospital.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/04/boy.cougar.attack/index.html
 
Thank you for posting this. My mom was telling me about it this morning, but I didn't have all the details. It was nice seeing that Angel was okay.
 
Thanks for posting this DK. I'm so glad the dog is going to be ok!
 
What a hero this dog is. I am so glad he is alive and recovering!!
 
What a good dog and a lucky boy. I was sorry to hear she was hurt but sounds like she'll recover.
Four years ago my girlfriend let her little yorkie mix out on a line on her patio at night. She heard something and quickly stepped outside and saw a big something with her little dog running away. She screamed and it dropped her dog who was badly injured (she thinks the line caused some resistance too). Shaking she picked Teddy up and while her oldest daughter held him in a towel, she drove to the 24 hour animal hospital. They saved him. My friend was grateful beyond words (almost $2,000) because she felt responsible and loved her dog. He has since passed of unrelated causes. My friend called her Village office the next day and told them that she was certain a cougar had attacked her dog in her residential backyard. She got the impression they were skeptical of her story. Her goal was to increase public awareness so another family would not have that happen to them.
Early last winter I saw something big standing outside a rail type fence that rims my backyard. I grabbed my camera and took a couple pictures of the cougar that was mulling about. Usually when I open my back door to take a picture of birds or deer, they fly or run away too fast and I miss the picture. The cougar didn't react. He was a good distance away but not too far. Kind of freaks me out. I won't let my dog out alone at night. It was light outside when I saw the cougar at my house though! I didn't really think that cougars attack people unprovoked though - yikes! Also I live an hour away from my friend and we live in different directions from the heart of the city.
 
The RCMP officer who shot the cougar is my friend's cousin....she's pretty proud of him! What a great ending to what could have been such a tragedy! Go Angel!!
 
What a good dog and a lucky boy. I was sorry to hear she was hurt but sounds like she'll recover.
Four years ago my girlfriend let her little yorkie mix out on a line on her patio at night. She heard something and quickly stepped outside and saw a big something with her little dog running away. She screamed and it dropped her dog who was badly injured (she thinks the line caused some resistance too). Shaking she picked Teddy up and while her oldest daughter held him in a towel, she drove to the 24 hour animal hospital. They saved him. My friend was grateful beyond words (almost $2,000) because she felt responsible and loved her dog. He has since passed of unrelated causes. My friend called her Village office the next day and told them that she was certain a cougar had attacked her dog in her residential backyard. She got the impression they were skeptical of her story. Her goal was to increase public awareness so another family would not have that happen to them.
Early last winter I saw something big standing outside a rail type fence that rims my backyard. I grabbed my camera and took a couple pictures of the cougar that was mulling about. Usually when I open my back door to take a picture of birds or deer, they fly or run away too fast and I miss the picture. The cougar didn't react. He was a good distance away but not too far. Kind of freaks me out. I won't let my dog out alone at night. It was light outside when I saw the cougar at my house though! I didn't really think that cougars attack people unprovoked though - yikes! Also I live an hour away from my friend and we live in different directions from the heart of the city.

I have never heard of cougars in IL, where you say you are from, was it there? That would be a bit outside it's range. Did you show officials the photos so they could deal with it? And yes, cougars have attacked humans unprovoked, if they are hungry enough. That's not too unusual.
 
I have never heard of cougars in IL, where you say you are from, was it there? That would be a bit outside it's range. Did you show officials the photos so they could deal with it? And yes, cougars have attacked humans unprovoked, if they are hungry enough. That's not too unusual.

I live in Manitoba, Canada in a rural area and a number of people have seen cougars in our area, although Wildlife officials are always denying that they exist here. Once a man got a few photos of one in his backyard -- and finally officials had to admit they did exist.

The locals say that cougars like to kill and consume stray cats. My late husband told me that when he used to go hunting in the forests of northern Alberta, he would have to keep watch as the cougars would sit up on branches of the trees and jump down on top of unsuspecting people. He always warned me to have my stepdaughter play in the open and not on the edge of the property near the treeline, as cougars consider children easy prey.
 
I was thinking that the cougar might have been really going after the dog, the smaller prey all along and it was perhaps the boy's perception that the cougar was coming for him. Not sure if we have heard any clear indications that the cougar was going for the boy except what the boy thought.
What do you think?
 
I was thinking that the cougar might have been really going after the dog, the smaller prey all along and it was perhaps the boy's perception that the cougar was coming for him. Not sure if we have heard any clear indications that the cougar was going for the boy except what the boy thought.
What do you think?

You could very well be correct, Brwnigirl. Angel is still considered a puppy, and is not a large dog. And based on Angel's behavior, the Cougar probably did not see her as a threat-- maybe as dinner. Two of my dogs are Karelian Bear Dogs. If I were outside with my dogs -- they would have sensed the cougar right away and gone after it in 2 seconds to chase it off the property.

Thank God Angel did have some of her primitive instincts and was able to hold her own against the cougar. What a brave dog!
 
Penelope, I've seen pictures of the Karelian Bear Dogs (unfortunately never in person) and they are beautiful dogs. No doubt the cougar wouldn't have seen them as dinner.
 
I have never heard of cougars in IL, where you say you are from, was it there? That would be a bit outside it's range. Did you show officials the photos so they could deal with it? And yes, cougars have attacked humans unprovoked, if they are hungry enough. That's not too unusual.

Hi. Yes, in Illinois. Let me see if I can get someone to help me copy from "My Pictures" (snow day here) so I can post the "cat" I photographed last year just outside my backyard. I know how to do links now but I'm technically challenged so what should be easy is hard for me to accomplish.

Several years ago, when my friend reported the terrible incident she experienced, the reason you state is why she felt they had not really believed her. That's why, several years later, when I looked out and saw this big "cat" near to my backyard, I thought wow! I never reported it though even though I took the pictures. Then this past Fall I was walking my dog at night on the sidewalk and heard a big racket and howling and barking and it was spooky and I was very concerned as to what was going on because I remembered about the cougars. I still don't know what took place that night as I could not pin down where the sound was coming from but I hope it's not what I think and I tried to forget about it. Last night my dog was barking like a maniac inside the house. I was looking out the rear window and was thinking what in the heck is she barking at because she must have been alerted by smell first. I kept looking (as the white lights are still strung across that split rail fence and the ground is all snow) and I saw three moving shadows out on the horizon. I was thinking, do cougars go in packs? But the more I looked, I'm pretty sure they were smallish deer.

OMG!!! My husband just told me that my picture is of a coyote not a cougar. I feel so stupid but I was sincere.
He says that I'm the cougar-ha!
 
Further corrections per my DH - a coyote is a dog (not a cat like I said). I saw a wild dog but apparently I'm a very mixed up cougar which must have something to do with old age.

DH says there have been cougar (mountain lion) sightings in Northern Wisconsin but has not heard of them in Illinois.
 
Further corrections per my DH - a coyote is a dog (not a cat like I said). I saw a wild dog but apparently I'm a very mixed up cougar which must have something to do with old age.

DH says there have been cougar (mountain lion) sightings in Northern Wisconsin but has not heard of them in Illinois.

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Too funny!

On a serious note, coyotes will attack small dogs, and there was one instance recently of a person being killed by them (in Canada.) So if you have coyotes, be very careful with your dogs, no matter how much of a cougar YOU are, LOL!!!!
 
I have never heard of cougars in IL, where you say you are from, was it there? That would be a bit outside it's range. Did you show officials the photos so they could deal with it? And yes, cougars have attacked humans unprovoked, if they are hungry enough. That's not too unusual.



Hi DK, how's my fellow Hoosier doing? :seeya: Just wanted to jump in here and let you know that there have actually been many sightings down here in Southern Indiana and Southern Illinois. My hubby has seen a cougar more than once on his way to and from work, and one of his co-workers who lives in Illinois has seen them, also. And this co-worker's son-in-law, who is a deer hunter, has spotted cougars while out hunting ~ so they are around here apparently.
 
Hi DK, how's my fellow Hoosier doing? :seeya: Just wanted to jump in here and let you know that there have actually been many sightings down here in Southern Indiana and Southern Illinois. My hubby has seen a cougar more than once on his way to and from work, and one of his co-workers who lives in Illinois has seen them, also. And this co-worker's son-in-law, who is a deer hunter, has spotted cougars while out hunting ~ so they are around here apparently.

Hi Hoosier buddy!!! :seeya:

Are you sure they were cougars and not bobcats or coyotes? A lot of people get the names of bobcats and cougars mixed up. And, as we read above, even coyotes, lol. :crazy:
 
Hi Hoosier buddy!!! :seeya:

Are you sure they were cougars and not bobcats or coyotes? A lot of people get the names of bobcats and cougars mixed up. And, as we read above, even coyotes, lol. :crazy:



LOL, I pretty much asked the same thing the first time hubby told me he had seen one. :waitasec: But he is a lifetime student of any and all things nature and animal, so he does know the difference, and he insists it was a cougar. He has seen coyotes on the way to and from work, as well. As far as other people's sightings, they are adamant that it was a cougar they saw, but who knows? I guess some pictures would sure come in handy, but who would want to risk getting close enough to get a really good one, LOL?? :crazy:
 
latest pics latest pics april 2007 353 april 2007 353

I'm trying to post a picture of the coyote that I saw behind my house in April of 2007. I don't know how to do it. As you can see I managed to post the label but can't transfer the photo. The laptop has Windows Vista with Windows Photo Gallery where I found the picture. I couldn't find it in "my pictures" because I never learned to label pictures correctly with this system.

latest pics april 2007 353 Woe
 

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