Canadian Man Brawls with Cougar to Save His Dogs

When 31-year-old William Gibb of Alberta, Canada, went out with his two dogs the day after Christmas to meet a friend at a restaurant, he had no idea what would be waiting for him once he got there. Like many dog lovers, Gibb treats his prized pets as if they are his own children, so it isn’t difficult to imagine the terror that must have come from seeing them suddenly thrown into danger.

While he was waiting at the restaurant, Gibb let his two dogs, Sasha and Mongo, take a short walk around the area near the restaurant’s parking lot. At some point, he heard a cry coming from one of the dogs, and he turned to witness a grizzly scene: a cougar had attacked Sasha, and she was fighting for her life. It’s unusual for a cougar, an ambush predator that can weigh-in at up to 200 pounds, to make such a brazen and aggressive attack in a populated area, but that’s exactly the situation Gibb and his dogs found themselves in.

Without hesitation, Gibb reacted instinctually and took a few swings at the big cat. When Gibb saw Sasha lying on the ground, he tried to bring her to safety. Unfortunately, Sasha bit Gibb’s hand in the confusion, likely mistaking him for the cougar. At that point, Gibb was left trying to fend off the cougar with his right hand while Sasha took hold of his left. Eventually, Sasha regained her senses and let go of Gibb to run off to safety, but the cougar had not given up yet. Even though Gibb had landed a few punches, the big cat was still focused on attacking and began to shift its attention toward his other dog, Mongo.

Now, with the life of his other canine companion in jeopardy, Gibb once again stood in the middle of the cougar and his dog. Speaking about the ordeal with CBC News, Gibb said, "I could see the cougar going for him, so I got between him and the cougar and started swinging and screaming at it, and called for my brother and friend to come give a hand. And then I reached down for the closest, biggest stick that I could find and I ran back into the trees to go fight the cougar."

Shortly afterward, Gibb and his friends managed to scare the mountain lion off long enough to secure the dogs in the safety of his truck. The cougar fled the scene and disappeared into the woods once again. Gibb was bruised and bloodied by the encounter, suffering lacerations on his arms, but the dogs were alive. Sasha, however, didn’t come away from the incident unscathed. She had deep wounds on parts of her stomach and neck, some of which required stitches. Fortunately, she was recently released from the vet and is recovering nicely.

Local police searched the woods for the cougar. Eventually, authorities found and neutralized the animal.

It seems that there’s no shortage of stories in which dogs heroically defend their families, but it’s great to see that some of us can live up to their standards as well. Not everyone would react to the threat of an attacking mountain lion as Gibb did, but when his dogs needed him the most, he was there, and they are both alive today because of it.