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VIDEO: BC man saves his dog from pair of cougars

A BC man is revelling in the exciting experience of being confronted by two young cougars, but he says that it could have gone much worse.

Mike Germunstad, a resident of Campbell River, said he and his dog had made the 15-minute journey to a small cabin in the woods on April 3.

According to Germunstad, he went to the cabin that afternoon, which is frequented by all-terrain vehicle owners and dirt bikers, to clean up the repeated mess he had been finding in recent weeks.

<who>Photo Credit: Facebook, Mike Germunstad</who>

<who>Photo Credit: Facebook, Mike Germunstad</who>

While he tidied up the area, he heard sounds in the distance until finally he thought he saw a dog rounding the corner of a bush.

“But when it finally came into full view it wasn't a dog, it was a cougar – and a few seconds behind the first one was the second one, so there was two of them,” said Germunstad.

“I looked down, my dog was right by my side at that time, which was a good thing, and when they came around the corner they just locked eyes on us and locked eyes on my dog right away.”

Germunstad’s dog, Shorty, tried to approach the cougars, somewhat curious, but Germunstad called him back.

“[Shorty] turned and started coming to me but as he did that, and as I bent over to pick him up, one cougar bolted and within seconds it was right on us. I picked my dog up, just in time,” said Germunstad, who added that while he lifted the dog up over his head, the cougar slammed into his leg and scurried away.

He put Shorty in his enclosed side-by-side ATV where he would be safe.

"It's pretty rare to get to see that kind of thing, and then to have two of them there was pretty exciting, and a little bit of terror there in the beginning – I was just worried I was about to lose my dog, and I almost did,” Germunstad said, excited about the opportunity to be up close and personal with nature.

He said this wasn't his first time being face-to-face with a cougar. Over a decade ago, Germunstad had been on a popular hiking trail near Campbell River when he witnessed a woman’s dog killed by a roaming cougar.

“Once he was safe, I just focused on getting some good video. I actually enjoyed the whole thing, it's a pretty neat thing."

Germunstad wasn’t sure why the animals were at the cabin but concluded that the garbage – which included food, tin foil, beer cans and bottles – may have contributed.



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