A Utah family is safe after their heroic dog protected them from a mountain lion hiding in their backyard on Tuesday.
Ella, a 7-year-old Labrador, was outside with the family’s children as they played in the pool when something grabbed her attention in their yard, according to KSLTV News. “She was on point. She’s a hunting dog but she was just on point,” owner Crystal Michaelis explained to KSLTV.
“She kept looking at the kids and then quickly looking back.” Michaelis continued. “She was just being very cautious and my daughter thought it was very concerning.”
Ella, who usually plays with the children, even went so far as to nudge one of the children away when they tried to get her down from the rock wall in their yard, according to WTKR news.
A family’s dog helped defend their children against a mountain lion in Utah.
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Once the children went inside the house, Ella was attacked, though the family was not aware of it until they heard her at their door, according to KSLTV. “We opened the back door and found Ella just bloodied. There was blood all over the door and all over the patio,” Michaelis said.
Ella suffered injuries to her head, nose, tongue, legs and neck, and had more than 30 bite marks on her body, indicating that she never let down her protective stance, Michaelis explained to KSLTV. (RELATED: Dog Suffers Two Skull Fractures While Defending Her Owner From Mountain Lion While On Walk)
Police in Pleasant Grove, Utah, urged local residents to be cautious after confirming that Ella’s attacker was a mountain lion from tracks found in the yard, KSLTV reported. In a statement released on Facebook, Pleasant Grove Police encouraged residents to be aware of their surroundings and the whereabouts of their small children and also asked them to consider bringing their family pets inside.