Senior Border Collie Saves Woman From Cougar Attack

An 11-year-old Border Collie, appropriately named Vicious, scared off a cougar that wandered into her Trail, B.C., home on Saturday.

Vicious was snuggling on the couch with her dog mom, Angie Prime, and Ivar and Otto, two 14-week-old Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix puppies, when a cougar entered the house through an open door and stood about 6 feet away from them.

“It was definitely surreal,” Prime told the Toronto Sun. “We looked at each other and had a moment. It was, holy (expletive), there’s a cougar in my house.”

The cougar pounced.

“I moved to try and block myself, and it kind of jumped up and I screamed,” Prime told CBC News. “She got one paw on me and I got three punctures on my upper thigh from her claws.”

Vicious jumped off the couch and chased the big cat out of the house and up an embankment.

Apparently the emaciated, aging cougar, whose bones Prime said were protruding, was starving and desperate for food. Unfortunately, the cat was shot and killed by conservation officers on Monday after they set out baited traps.

Conservation officer Aaron Canuel told CTV News, “Sometimes when a cougar’s that age and in that poor physical condition, their ability to hunt their natural prey like deer and elk diminishes significantly.” He said the animal was killed to prevent it from attacking another person.

In January 2010, a Golden Retriever who also lived in British Columbia and had an appropriate name – Angel – saved an 11-year-old boy from a cougar attack.

Prime told the Sun that while it’s not unusual to see wild animals in close proximity where she lives, “You don’t expect a cougar to come in your house.”

As for leaving the back door open in the future so her dogs can go in and out? “The chances of that happening are ridiculously low,” Prime said.

PHOTO: Public Domain

Laura Goldman

Laura Goldman is senior social media writer for i Love Dogs, Inc. She does love dogs. And elephants and turtles. Along with writing about the loves of her life, Laura likes to play with her two pound pups and tell anyone who’ll listen just how awesome Pit Bulls are.