Eva, the hero dog, beats back a mountain lion that attacked her owner on a hike

[appalachiablue]

- NPR, May 21, 2022. A lot of dog owners would do just about anything for their pet, expecting only cuddles and goofy looks in return. But earlier this week, a dog nearly gave her life to save her owner from a rare mountain lion attack on a hiking trail in remote Northern California. Erin Wilson, 24, a waitress, had just hopped out of her truck at a roadside picnic area and was heading down a trail to the Trinity River, when she heard something in the bushes.

"I'm just walking down the slope and the dog had run ahead of me. And I turn around and there's this cat just growling at me and it reaches up and it swipes at me," she said. "At first, I was just like, Wait, what? And I think I screamed and I shouted for Eva and she came running."

Eva is Wilson's 2 1/2-year-old Belgian Malinois. The breed is highly intelligent and agile. The dogs are bred for self-defense and often used as police dogs. If they don't have work and space to roam, they get neurotic. Wilson describes the breed as "a German shepherd on steroids or crack or cocaine. They're just driven dogs, a little crazy. If they don't have something to do they will destroy their environment," by chewing or digging.

But in that desperate moment at the riverside picnic area, Eva's canine instincts kicked in. She came running to protect a member of her pack who had just been scratched by a wild animal, and tackled the cougar. "They tussled for a couple of seconds, but he got her pretty quickly," Wilson said, in an interview from the stockroom at her restaurant. She said the mountain lion looked thin and desperate, but she doesn't want to paint it as a villain in her story. She thinks it was hungry because drought conditions make it harder to hunt for deer, its preferred food. It was just doing what it evolved to do. She acknowledged that, at about 115 pounds, she's easy prey...
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/21/1100442691/eva-the-hero-dog-beats-back-a-mountain-lion-that-attacked-her-owner-on-a-hike

[Johnny2X2X]

1. Wow. Lucky dog

What a brave dog and owner. Mountain Lions are incredibly powerful, but attacks in a dog that big are rare.

[appalachiablue]

2. The cat was likely lean & hungry, so they were indeed lucky, wow.

[StarryNite]

3. They literally saved each other.

[appalachiablue]

14. They did indeed! Humans' best friend :)

[KS Toronado]

4. Had never heard of a Belgian Malinois breed

Does look like a German shepherd on steroids

[peppertree]

5. Basically, the complete opposite of a Basset Hound

"A mountain lion, you said? Just tell not to make too much noise; I'm still sleepy."

[KS Toronado]

7. Friend years ago had a Basset Hound

and he had an attitude of "I'll let you know when I need some petting",
might have learned that from their family cat.

[peppertree]

19. That's them alright

Basset policy is: Don't call us; we'll call you (unless it involves treats or scratchies).

[appalachiablue]

20. Adorable, what a face!

[peppertree]

22. Yeah. It's hard to say no to them - and they know it!

Great to have around small children though.

They can pester and tug their ears and whiskers all day long - and at most a Basset will just move to another spot.

[appalachiablue]

15. Aww, cute one, luv it

[peppertree]

21. Thanks! Glad you liked it

They can be a handful - but you never forget them.

[GoCubsGo]

8. It looks like a German shepherd with a short coat.

And, a slightly more wiry body. You've probably seen one before. They're used a lot by police and the military.

[bottomofthehill]

10. We had a Malinois, she was the most amazing dog

They are actually a little smaller than a German Shepherd but my god smart and loyal.

Baby was the family protector and security blanket when I would travel for work. She never heard the words attack or sick-‘‘em or anything the like. She was very well trained as dogs like this must be. One time when my wife was out walking her and felt threatened when a car with three men drove past her a couple times then pulled up and stopped in front of her, her Baby went to work.

One of the young men got out of the car and was walking towards my wife. She had the dog sit and stay with her hand up in front of her face. The young man continued to walk towards my wife and she told him “ my dog is not friendly, you should stop”. He took a couple more steps, she dropped the leash and her hand and simply said “Free”. That means the dog can do what the dog does, chase a squirrel, run the fence line, chase a ball, do what you do…. She said she made an amazing gutteral sound, her chest went down, her hind came up and she lunged. The young man screamed and jumped back towards the car, grabbed the door and his friend hit the gas heading up the street. My wife shouted “baby SIT” and she did. My wife took a few steps, picked up the leash and walked home.

What the guy wanted my wife will never know. When looking at a 50 pound dog and when asked to stop for his safety, he kept coming. My wife got home, gave baby two chicken breasts that were in the refrigerator and called the police to report what had happened.

In the 11 years we had baby, that was the closest she ever came to biting anyone, and my wife is not sure she did not get him as he did scream when she lunged.

We loved that dog and all cried like babies when we lost her. She was cremated and still lives with us on the bookshelf in the family room. She was a good girl. She was great with kids, she would try to herd them and keep them in order in the back yard to no avail, but that kept her busy and happy and the boys loved playing tag and chase with her.

We now have two big black mouth curs, big, dumb and loyal. No where near the intellect of the Malinois but good dogs just the same.

[appalachiablue]

16. That is an amazing story, what a smart, loyal protector

[bottomofthehill]

18. She was a great part of our family.

[KS Toronado]

6. Looking around the www for Belgian Malinois

and came across this if anyone's interested. Reader's Digest article. Belgian Malinois are expensive!

https://www.rd.com/list/smartest-dog-breeds/

[bottomofthehill]

12. This is a slightly different dog

There are a few different Belgian breeds. The one in the article is usually a little smaller but looks a little bigger than the Malinois as it has longer hair and puffier fur. If you have a yard and time to work with them, you should have a Belgian. If you don’t have the time and space, stay away, they will make your life hell.

[EarnestPutz]

9. I read recently that old mountain lions with worn or missing teeth can't quickly immobilize....

....or kill their prey with a bite to the neck, so they have less success hunting, end up hungry and then may attack a human, something they would usually avoid.

[Hortensis]

11. Wonderful. The dog Eva was badly hurt. Her owner and another woman

were wounded as they fought in turn to get Eva out of the jaws of the mountain lion, which outmatched her and of course makes her protection all the more heroic. And how about that passerby?!

Eva may have had her own heroes — Wilson and the passerby, identified by the Bee as Sharon Houston, suffered non-life-threatening scratches and bite wounds fighting off the big cat as it held Eva in its jaws.

“The dog is not going to win that,” Foy said.

Wilson told the Bee that she hit the lion with rocks and sticks and tried to choke it and gouge its eyes. She was scratched by the cat’s hind legs as it kicked her away.

Wilson said she ran back to her vehicle a short distance away and flagged down Houston, who armed herself with a length of PVC pipe and pepper spray.

Together they attacked the cat until it ran off.

Wilson said Eva was bleeding from her mouth and rushed her to an emergency vet nearly 90 minutes away. Eva went into convulsions during the drive, she told the Bee.

According to a GoFundMe page Wilson started to cover Eva’s vet bills, the dog suffered two skull fractures, a puncture to her sinus cavity and swelling around her left eye.

“The vet is optimistic,” Wilson wrote.

[Sympthsical]

13. We've had mountain lions and bears in the neighborhood lately

Mountain lions, sure. They live in the regional park a few blocks over. One got a cow a few months back. However, there was one literally two blocks down the street from me on the actual street in our housing development about two or so weeks back. Scared the hell out of a Door Dash driver.

Last week or so, a bear appeared in Vacaville. Then another was a bit farther south. Then another was spotted in the housing development across the way from me.

Here's the thing - I had no idea there were even bears in North Bay. So this is all very eye-opening.

We had a real, real dry winter (already been getting red flag fire weather warnings all week). So wildlife is coming down out of the hills to find food. I go to the gym to do things, but my partner takes walks and bikes around. I've told him I think he should get some bear spray or something from Amazon, for both the lions and the bears. I used to walk/jog to the gym because it's only a mile down the street, but I've been driving lately.

Gettin paranoid about it.

[appalachiablue]

17. Interesting and real good to know, Stay safe

[GeoWilliam750]

23. A century ago, a mountain lion in New Mexico tried to make a meal of my grandmother

It became a hand muff