Erin Wilson from California went hiking with her dog Eva, a two-year-old Belgian shepherd. When the girl was walking along the path to the river, a cougar jumped out of the bushes at her.
The wildcat clawed at the girl’s shoulder. The dog rushed to help. The cougar switched from the girl to the dog and grabbed her by the head. Erin tried to save her four-legged friend: she threw stones and beat the cougar with her fists. But the predator held the dog tightly.
Erin ran to the road, stopped a passing car and told the female driver about the cougar attack. Grabbing a plastic pipe and a gas canister, they ran to the animals. The women began shouting to chase the cougar away, and, in the end, it let the dog go.
Eva was bleeding and barely breathing. Erin took her to the vet. “I said: my dog, stay with me. I love you. I can’t live without you. Don’t leave me,” Erin recalls.
Eva was left at the veterinary clinic. Erin had only a few bruises and scratches. The doctors advised her to get a rabies vaccination. Erin believes the dog saved her life. “If it hadn’t been for Eva, who reacted with lightning speed, the cougar probably would have jumped up and grabbed my face or neck with its teeth,” Erin thinks.
A few weeks later, Erin posted a photo on social networks and reported that the dog sleeps a lot, she has a good appetite, and every day she gets better.
