A woman who was walking with her dog has her loyal pet to thank for surviving a mountain lion attack.
Erin Wilson was on a path near the Trinity River in Big Bar, California, when a mountain lion jumped out and scratched Wilson’s shoulder through her jacket, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Wilson called for Eva, her 2 1/2-year-old Belgian Malinois, who was a few yards away.
The 55-pound dog ran, toward and slamed into the mountain lion, Wilson said.
“They fought for a couple seconds, and then I heard her start crying,” Wilson told the Bee.
The mountain lion bit the dog’s head and held on, despite Wilson’s attempt to break the mountain lion’s grasp by throwing rocks and sticks, then punching, choking and gouging its eyes.
The mountain lion kicked Wilson off and scratched her with its back paws.
Wilson ran to her pickup truck, grabbed a tire iron and flagged down a passing car. That driver, Sharon Houston, grabbed a PVC pipe and pepper spray.
The two women beat the mountain lion after it had dragged Eva off the trail. Eventually, Houston sprayed the mountain lion with pepper spray before it ran away.
Eva was severely injured in the attack — she sustained two skull fractures, a punctured sinus cavity, and damage to her left eye. She also had seizures as she was transported to the vet, but has since stabilized, SFGate reported.
Wilson called Eva “my hero” on a GoFundMe page that she set up to help pay for her dog’s medical bills.
Wildlife officials collected samples from Eva’s wounds to conduct DNA tests. They will also try to trap the mountain lion.
Mountain lions don’t normally attack humans but when they do, they are euthanized if caught, SFGate reported.
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