Life in the Canadian Wilderness

Around Xmas time a friend of mine, Davy, one of the docs in Vanderhoof, went with his dog to check on his cabin which is about 15 miles out of town. As it is a couple of miles off ploughed roads he cross country skied the last bit. On arrival Davy busied himself with getting the woodstove lit as he intended to overnight and the dog, a solid medium / large beast of uncertain genealogy wandered about outside.

Suddenly, the dog was barking followed by a terrible squealing - Davy dashed outside to find the dog lying face down with a large cougar on top biting at it's neck. Davy grabbed the first thing to hand, a ski pole, and started thrashing at the cougar to the point of seriously bending the pole but the big cat was unmoved. He desperately looked for something else and found a long wooden pole about 3 inches in diameter which he brought down on the cougar's head with a few mighty whacks. This had the desired effect of the dog being released and the cougar walked away about 30 feet and lay down to reassess the situation. Davy and dog adjourned to the cabin in some haste.

The problem now was that the dog needed some veterinarian attention, they were outside of cellphone coverage and unable to summon help, and the cougar was still around. After a while the cougar seemed to go and Davy made the decision to make a break for it - walking now as he did not want to be caught on skis if he was attacked and carrying a hatchet and a large kitchen knife.

They made it back to their vehicle without incident and the dog subsequently received treatment for several puncture wounds to it's neck. When I saw the beast a few days ago it seemed fully recovered and Davy is now the proud owner of a pump action 12 gauge shotgun.