We Talked to the Guy Who Dummied a Cougar to Save His Dog

Never get between a man and his dog.

That's what one cougar learned on boxing day after going after an Alberta man's dog outside of a Tim Hortons—because this is Canada and this is what we have to deal with up here. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter if you're a massive feline built for death and destruction, if you attack a man's dogs you will, most likely, get socked in the goddamn head.

William Gibb, a 31-year-old Red Deer man, was traveling through Whitecourt on Boxing Day with his brother on their way to some contract work when they decided to meet a friend for coffee. They pulled into the local Tim Hortons and Gibb let his two dogs, Sasha and Mongo, out to pee.

"Within about 30 seconds Sasha started to crying out and I didn't know what was going on, I thought maybe she got something in her paw so I went running," Gibb told VICE. "As soon as I went around the tree I saw something wrapped around her and instinctively ran up and punched it in the side of the head."

The head he just smashed belonged to a cougar and even when Gibb realized that fact it didn't matter, because anger took over and he had to protect his pup.

"Fear wasn't even a thought on the radar, I knew I was going to get hurt when I attacked it but it wasn't going to dissuade me from getting ahold of the cougar and hurting it," Gibb said. "My first punch where I connected with the head it actually bruised my knuckle, it was solid contact."

After dummying the cougar, it backed off his dog. Gibb saw Sasha lying on the ground bleeding and scooped up his beloved husky. But even though he safely had his dog, the fight wasn't over yet. With his pooch in one arm, Gibb continued to throw heat at the feline who tossed some back his way.

"It came towards us slightly. You know when boxers square off and they're throwing test jabs? [We were] basically doing that, between me and the cougar, we wanted to stay the hell away from each other."

Gibb's brother and friend arrived to help with the dogs, leaving time for Gibb to find the nearest weapon, a large stick, and chase the cougar into the tree.

The trio called a vet for Sasha, who needed emergency treatment for some wounds, and the RCMP who immediately dispatched a team and killed the cougar for obvious reasons. Sasha suffered a couple lacerations and some puncture marks on her neck but will make a full recovery however, as Gibb says, she is "a little worse for wear."

As for Gibb, well, he has some gouges in his arm and a story for the ages.

"I always had the knowledge that I might have to face off with one but I was at least hoping that I would have some sort of weapon to even the odds," he said.

"I never thought I would go after one with my bare hands."

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