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This is an incredible tale about a golden retriever appropriately named Angel.

On Jan. 2, 11-year-old Austin Forman was outside his British Columbia, Canada, home gathering some wood with Angel when he saw something coming at him.

"I was really scared. At first, I didn't know it was a cougar. I thought it was another dog," Austin said. "As soon as it went underneath the light, I saw that it was a cougar. I knew at that moment, I had to go inside."

Before the big cat reached Austin, Angel took action, charging the cougar and giving the boy a chance to get away.

His parents could hear Angel whimpering in pain -- the cougar had the dog under the family's front steps with Angel's head in its mouth -- and so they called 911. Within a minute, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Const. Chad Garvelle arrived to find the cougar mauling the dog.

He shot and killed the cougar and the dog was released from the cat's mouth.

Amazingly, Angel, who is 18 months old, had only minor injuries and is expected to fully recover.

A CTVNews account notes that Angel -- called "loyal, faithful and courageous" -- is "one tough dog.

And Austin says the canine has become "more than a best friend" to him.

(RCMP handout)

Angel, a golden retriever credited with saving an 11-year-old boy from a cougar attack, underwent surgery Monday for wounds inflicted by the cougar. Jan. 4, 2010. (CTV)