A cougar attacked a B.C. family's golden retriever Saturday night after the dog stepped in between the cougar and an 11-year-old boy.
Police, who later shot the cougar dead, credited the 18-month-old dog -- Angel -- for saving the boy's life.
Austin Forman had gone to retrieve some firewood outside his family's home in Boston Bar, about 200 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
That's when the cougar began to charge across the yard at the boy.
"I was really scared. At first, I didn't know it was a cougar. I thought it was another dog," Austin told CTV News on Sunday. "As soon as it went underneath the light, I saw that it was a cougar. I knew at that moment, I had to go inside."
Angel, who had been at Austin's side, engaged the cougar, which was slightly larger than Angel.
Austin, meanwhile, ran into the house and screamed, "A cougar is eating Angel!" his mother, Sherri Forman, recalled in a phone interview with ctvbc.ca.
