Article content continued

Adrenalin kicked in and Xerri found himself jumping on top of the big cat, startling it and grabbing its scruff.

Was it smart? Probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done

“I threw it about five or six feet,” he said.

But the cougar was undeterred, and this time wrapped its mouth around the dog’s head and tried to drag the canine into the trees, Xerri said.

Once again, Xerri threw himself at the cougar, screaming. He managed to scare off the cougar, which dodged him and ran off into the woods.

All the while, Jacqui and Xerri’s 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter were inside the home listening to the commotion. They were all relieved to learn Xerri and Boomer escaped with only minor injuries.

“He’s good. We took him to the hospital and he just had some teeth marks on his skull from where the cougar was trying to drag him,” Xerri said.

“He’s alive. I was worried about Jacqui. She’s not used to the country, and if she lost her dog that way, it would be really traumatic.”

Xerri said he had a feeling there was something lurking around outside because earlier in the day his golden retriever was barking all afternoon.

He said he has seen wildlife on his property — including bears, lynx and coyote — but he has never gotten that close to a cougar before.

And he’s worried if a cougar attack happens again, it will be against his children.