William Gibb never imagined a Boxing Day stop at a Tim Hortons in Whitecourt, Alberta would result in a wildlife encounter that left one of his dogs injured.
Gibb, a 31-year-old electrician from Red Deer, made his way through the restaurant's drive-thru at approximately 6:30 p.m. Monday, picking up some timbits for his dogs, Sacha and Mungo, and parked next to a friend. He let his pets out of his vehicle and, within minutes, he heard Sacha, a larger mutt, howling in pain.
Gibb ran to help the dog and discovered it was in the jaws of an animal. "I thought it was possibly a coyote," recalls Gibb. "It was wrapped right around her and I ran up and instinctively I just aimed for what looked like the head, punched it on the side of the head. The thing backed right off and let go of her."
Gibb said the animal retreated and he immediately realized it was a cougar. "Instinctively it backs off into the bush. I chase after it (armed with a stick) because I want to get it away further from the dogs. I'm screaming, yelling bloody murder."
The dog owner returned to find Sacha twitching. He attempted to pick up his injured dog and the frightened mutt latched onto his hand. Gibb soon realized the cougar had followed and he and the cat began exchanging swats. Gibb's brother and a friend gathered Sacha while Gibb challenged the cat back into the woods.
Gibb took Sacha to a nearby vet and notified RCMP of the attack. "They got there immediately, " said Gibb of the RCMP response. "(They) scoured the area, found the area within 100 feet of where the attack took place."
"They put the animal down and rightfully so."
Sacha is expected to survive her injuries.
"She has four puncture wounds on her neck, two large lacerations on her chest," explained Gibb. "(Her chest) was opened up to three layers of her muscle so the vet had to stitch three different layers of stitching before she got to the top flesh."
The encounter has altered Gibb's approach. "For me, it's an extran layer of caution that I'm going to have to carry around from now on. I'd like to think of myself as being better prepared than the average person and this situation proved otherwise."
"We were lucky that it was us that this happened to and not a small child or a family with a smaller dog. Her size saved her. (The cougar) was only about 20 pounds heavier (than her) and I truly believe it was her size that saved her."
According to RCMP, officers consulted with Whitecourt Fish and Wildlife officials before the decision was made to terminate the cougar.
Whitecourt is located approximately 175 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
