hero dogs: January 2010 Archives
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)
About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.