Hero dogs ... save couple in cougar attack

COVE — What was supposed to be the first camping trip of the season for Wesley and Lisa Wynn of Cove unexpectedly turned into a nightmare on Mount Fanny that they will never forget.

Road access to the Moss Spring campgrounds had just opened up, and the Wynns were eager to get away from it all and enjoy the quiet of the mountains for a couple of days. They arrived at the site mid-afternoon on Sunday, June 7, and set up camp. They brought their two quarterhorses with them and their dogs, Corona, an 8-year-old black lab, border collie mix and Gigi, a 5-year-old, long-haired, female German Shepherd.

Monday around 10 p.m. the animals were all settling down for the night and Wesley and Lisa were enjoying the last embers of their campfire.

At the call of their master, Corona and Gigi leaped from the truck and raced ahead of the couple into the dark on a path leading toward the outhouse. Wesley had a small flashlight to light the trodden path ahead of them. His loaded 12-gauge shotgun was leaning against the truck about 15 feet behind him. He wouldn’t need it for this simple task, he thought.

As they neared the outhouse, the dogs began to growl and bark. Then what looked like a yellowish-brown dog jumped out from the shadows onto Corona, clamping its teeth around Corona’s neck and shaking him. The animal stood at least 3 inches taller than their shepherd, Gigi. Unafraid, Gigi immediately came to Corona’s rescue and bit the large animal in its hind quarters.

“The animal let go of Corona and swung around for Gigi,” said Wesley. “That’s when I flashed my flashlight on it and saw it was a cougar.”

The cat’s mouth was extended and its lip drawn upward to bare its teeth. The cougar’s ears were pinned back as it swiped with its strong claws at the barking dogs. Wesley yelled to his wife, “It’s a cat! Get the gun!”

Lisa, who was nursing an old injury to her knee, ran in a limping fashion as fast as she could to the truck to retrieve the rifle.

“About a hundred things were going through my mind,” she said. “Am I going to get back in time to help Wes?”

Wesley said that he pointed the light from his flashlight directly into the eyes of the cougar. It blinded the cat, and it apparently could not see Wesley. One dog was on either side of the cat barking and growling, distracting the cat and protecting Wesley. It was only seconds since Lisa had left his side, but he couldn’t help but wonder if the cat would detect him and attack.

“As I waited for Lisa, I just couldn’t believe this was happening,” he said. “The cougar was about 10 to 15 feet away from me.”

As soon as Wesley felt the rifle shoved into his empty hand, he gave Lisa the flashlight and instinctively the cougar knew it was in mortal danger.

“It turned around and started running behind the outhouse,” he said. “I took a shot, but the cat leaped, and I think he got clean away. Lisa and I followed him for a few more feet and I shot up into the mountain to scare it away.”

After the cougar fled into the darkness, Corona and Gigi ran back to the camp and jumped into the back of the truck. Corona had puncture wounds behind his ear on his neck and claw holes on the side of his saliva-wet body. He was hurt and afraid, and he wouldn’t let Wesley touch him. Gigi was unharmed but stayed close to Corona throughout the night.

“If Gigi hadn’t bitten the cat like she did, Corona would have been hurt badly,” said Wesley.

Corona wasn’t the only one shaken by the experience.

“After it was over, my whole body was convulsing,” Lisa said. “I thought my knee was going to pop out of place again. I was so scared I couldn’t even cry.”

Wesley reported his experience to the authorities and the next day he received a call from Leonard Erickson of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“He told me this was definitely an attack because the cougar had ample time and opportunity to get out of the area where we were camping, but it did not,” Wesley said.

The Wynns think back on this nightmare with a deepened appreciation for their hero dogs.

“They worked as a team and kept the cougar away from us,” said Wesley. “They are hero dogs to me.”

These otherwise mild-mannered, tail-wagging dogs surprised Lisa when push came to shove.

“You always wonder if your dogs will actually defend you, being so calm-natured other times,” said Lisa. “It proved true — they showed what they can accomplish.”