That’s one tough pupper.
A pet owner’s worst nightmare is for their animal to be put in harm’s way. That scary situation unfortunately came true in La Verne, California for two residents who had left their dog unattended.
Steve and Nicole live in a gated community, and their home has a fenced in backyard. The Californians know that bears, bobcats, coyotes, rattlesnakes, and mountain lions are in the area, but assumed that their backyard would be a safe place for their pet.
Their dog, named Holly Jolly (and most of the time just going by Holly), is a giant black schnauzer that found itself in a stand off with a mountain lion after it was let outside during the night.
The encounter was captured on a Ring security camera, and first showed the dog and big cat staring at one another from a distance before the mountain lion moved in to attack.
Holly’s owners were just inside watching a movie, which unfortunately featured a scene with a dog. That briefly caused some confusion when loud yelps were heard.
Nicole elaborated to KTLA 5 by saying:
“We heard a yelping, and my husband said ‘Is that Holly?’ And I replied ‘No, I think it’s the television.’
There was a dog on the screen and they were going through an action scene, so I just put two and two together.”
However, the pet owners eventually came to the realization that the ear-piercing noises they were hearing were actually coming from their beloved pet Holly, and they rushed to help.
Both Steve and Nicole screamed at the mountain lion, which spooked the big cat enough to allow for their dog to wiggle loose and run away to safety.
Steve said he was shocked to see the serious dog versus cat fight that was taking place in his backyard:
“As soon as I heard how fierce the battle was, I thought there was no way. I was imagining a skunk or something back there (and) she was just messing with it. I went in and grabbed a gun.”
Fortunately, the pet owner never had to use the gun he went to retrieve as the mountain lion had already ran off. But not even a half hour later, the big cat returned to the backyard to see if there was any sign of the injured dog.
Holly Jolly was safe and sound inside the home, and was later treated at the veterinarian for scratches, puncture wounds, and one injury on the back of the animal that required stitches.
The “Good Girl” was lucky to have not been seriously injured in the attack, and has her owners quick thinking to thank for her safety. Based on what Nicole told the news outlet, Holly the giant black schnauzer is recovering, and doing just fine:
“She’s feeling good. She’s enjoying all the extra love, all the extra treats, all the extra attention. She’s loving it right now.”
Take a look at the news story, which features video of the terrifying backyard attack, below:
