A Giant Schnauzer was lucky to escape alive Saturday night after a mountain lion attacked it in La Verne, Los Angeles.
The menacing mountain lion attacked the 3-year-old giant black schnauzer named Holly Jolly. Owners Steve and Nicole were startled by the sound of snarled yelping in their yard. They rushed to see their dog seconds away from becoming puppy chow for a hungry cougar. The homeowner’s surveillance cameras caught the moment of Holly’s harrowing escape, according to KTLA.
Holly, the 3-year-old pup, was in a fight for her life for nearly a minute in her own backyard. https://t.co/ncO7HiyiQP
— KKCO 11 News (@KKCO11News) February 13, 2024
The incident occurred Saturday at around 9 p.m. as Holly was getting some fresh air before calling it a night, according to ABC 7.
“We heard a yelping and my husband said, ‘Is that Holly?’ and I said, ‘No, I think that’s the television,’ and he said, ‘No, I think that’s Holly,’” Nicole told KTLA.
Nicole’s husband, Steve, shouted and startled the mountain lion, giving Holly the chance to escape from the cat’s deadly claws.
“As soon as I heard how fierce the battle was, I was like, ‘There’s no way,’” Steve told KTLA. “I was imagining like a skunk or something back here that she was just messing with, so then I went in and grabbed a gun.”
Ring camera footage revealed that the mountain lion returned about 20 minutes later, seemingly on the hunt for the wounded Holly, according to KTLA. (RELATED: Man Uses Snowboard To Fight Off Cougar At Utah Ski Resort)
Holly survived but sustained a gash in her neck requiring lots of stitches, according to KBTX.