The Dog that Fought off a Cougar

A heroic Golden named Angel. Picture: Vancouver Sun

By NICK BARNETT

Here's the story: In the yard of his home in Canada, an 11-year-old boy is saved from an attacking cougar by his one-year-old golden retriever. The dog, named Angel, hurls herself at the cougar, allowing the boy to run to safety.

Angel, though, is not safe. She battles the much tougher cougar and is caught in its jaws, bleeding and yelping, her life in danger. But the family have called the police, and a Mountie arrives. He struggles to get a clear shot at the cougar, finally managing to shoot it dead.

What of Angel? She revives long enough to check that the boy is safe, then collapses again. But with veterinary care, she's on the path to recovery.

All this happened at the weekend.

It made me think about all the many news accounts I've read of dogs that fought off intruders or other animals, or risked their lives to save people. There are several every year - do you read them too? They're some of the most inspiring things to read, though there's often also sadness.

Remember George, the fox terrier that fought a group of pig dogs in order to protect some children? George died in the process, but earned Britain's highest award for animal bravery.

There was even the story, which I blogged about last year, of an unknown dog that braved highway traffic to drag an injured dog away from danger.

Do you have your own dog bravery story? Maybe a dog has been the difference between life and death, for you or someone you know?

I know from owning two dogs (albeit small ones) how big their hearts are, how they'll go into bat for themselves or their companions even with "foes" that are much bigger. I'm certain that my 4kg dachshund Connor would bark stoutly if a cougar ever appeared from out of the shrubs of our suburban garden - though he'd be a poor match in battle.

Whether that quality is what we'd call "courage", or a more reckless instinct, I don't know, but it has served us humans very well when we've harnessed it.

I remember reading as a boy about the great St Bernard rescue dog Barry. Plainly named for such a heroic character, Barry saved 40 lives near the Swiss-Italian border in the early 19th century. That classic image of the St Bernard, rum barrel beneath its chin and looking out for avalanche survivors, is chiefly based on the true story of Barry.

Then there was Swansea Jack, the Newfoundland that saved a reported 27 people from the Tawe River in Wales in the 1930s.

And there are the frequent articles about police and rescue dogs that are trained to put themselves in harm's way to save lives, such as 9/11 hero Appollo.

But it's the acts of bravery by everyday dogs, people's pets, that are most moving because the act is the dog's own, not a reflex dinned in by trainers, and it could be any one of us, one day, who is the beneficiary.

So three cheers for golden retrievers, St Bernards, Newfoundlands and even stroppy dachshunds. Their bravery is inspiring.