# My Shepherd Mix is a Hero!



## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

I want to share this Crazy Storie with some dog people. Everyone I know already knows it. This happened around June 1. So not too long ago. I think the Shepherd in her really came out this day. I don't think a lab could have done it. Our Pitbull would have tried back in the day but would not have been so quick mentally and physically. 

*Indy our 10 lb Pom mix almost died today. He had a near death experience with a coyote. *​
Joe was doing yard work and left the door to the garage open. The garage door was also open and Indy went out looking for Joe. What he found first was a coyote. I was getting ready for work and looked outside. I saw a small dog facing off with a coyote. 

It hit me that the small dog with the coyote was Indy! Just at that point the coyote jumped on Indy and grabbed him. I ran down stairs with Cookie (My Shepherd Mix) by my side. I was screaming my head off. I got to the door in time to see Indy in the mouth of the coyote. 

I knew Indy is a fighter and no way he was dead yet. So I open the door and told Cookie "GO"! I knew the only way to save Indy was to let cookie chase the Coyote. In hopes the coyote would let Indy go. Cookie saw the coyote right away and went for it full force. I am still screaming with only one sock on, no shoes. All I could do was watch and hope Indy would be let go. Joe comes over and starts chases the coyote too. Cookie was about 2 feet from getting the coyote. It's hard to run with a 10lb dog in your mouth. The coyote knew he had to let Indy go or fight my crazy bitch dog. Coyotes don't like to fight. The coyote let Indy go. Cookie chased it off into the woods. 

Indy was stinky and in shock. He laid there amazed he was still alive. Joe scooped him up and gave him to me. He was ok. We heard a few barks in the woods. I got a little scared. Joe said "I need to save Cookie, she saved Indy". I knew Cookie was ok but I was still a little worried. Sure enough after calling for her. Cookie came back quickly and unharmed. She is a hero. She came back so proud that she got to chase that coyote off.

I knew Indy was dead if I did not let Cookie out. There was no way I could catch the coyote. I knew Cookie had a history of dealing with coyotes. She had a run in with more than one before. I had a gut feeling she would be ok. 

Thanks to my crazy, overly protective, hyper, high prey drive shepherd mix Cookie, Indy lives another day. Cookie can really step it up when we need her too. I am so proud. 

I know meatball would have done the same if he was younger. Well after all Cookie did learn a thing or two from meatball. 

What a crazy way to start my day. All this right as I was getting ready to leave for work. I am just so blessed that it was a happy ending. So watch out with your small dogs. 

Small dogs being attached happens and you better be ready for it. The only way to save your little dog is to keep it close. Never let it out of your site. Or make sure you have a larger meaner dog to protect it. I will never have another small dog as long as I live in Tahoe. It is just a bad Idea. We have had Indy for 8 years and never had anything like this happen before.

We took Indy to the vets. He had 2 punctures from the bite. He was very sore but getting around and acting normal. 

Happy ending to what could have been a very bad day.

PS. Our small dog wears a spike collar you know the punk rock kind. I have a feeling maybe the metal on the collar help keep the Coyote from getting a good grip on his neck. Or Indy was just really lucky. 

Here they are right after it all went down. You can see how scruffy Indy looks. Not the best photo of Cookie.









Here is a better photo of Cookie. 
sunsethappyfribe by Sarah Ireland, on Flickr


----------



## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

Way to go Cookie!! What a great girl  I am so glad Indy is okay. Thank goodness for super fast beautiful shepherds filled with lots of courage! She is just gorgeous by the way


----------



## CindyMDBecker (Feb 22, 2013)

Cookie, you ROCK!!! That was way too close for comfort. Glad it didn't end tragically.


----------



## Kahrg4 (Dec 19, 2012)

Poor Indy! Way to go Cookie! Love these dogs.


----------



## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Yikes!! That would've scared me to death! Good girl, Cookie!

I used to have Italian Greyhounds, and we have coyotes (and hawks) in the field behind my house. My Dobermans would go out with the little dogs, so I always felt that they were pretty safe. No more little dogs, so no more worries about that!


----------



## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Cookie really is a hero!Glad they're both ok!


----------



## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

WOW, yes you guys did good! We have Coyotes out here also. None have ever been that close however!

A six foot fence means "nothing" to them if they see "food!" 

Recent coyote attacks kill pets - My News 4 - KRNV, Reno, NV

Yep, Cookie is a hero! If you have a little dog, he should "roll" with back up!


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

This is the reason why I don't have little dogs either. There are coyotes everywhere around me. Not to mention Eagles, Hawks, and owls. When Brennan was a pup some kind of big predatory bird tried to swoop down and grab him, Midnite got there just in time and saved his life. I am paranoid when they are pups too. 

Way to go Cookie


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Here are all mine waiting and listening. You could hear the coyotes coming closer. Right after this picture all of mine lined the back gate, it looked like a football team. They definitely know when the Coyotes are near. 




Coyotes in my area are mostly just huge and around day and night...


----------



## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

That's an awesome story! Indy is one lucky boy.


----------



## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

Way to go Cookie!


----------



## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

Thanks everyone! We are very proud of our little Rescue pup. 
Coyotes are around all day here too not just night this all happened at 9:30am. 

My husband thought he wanted an easy, laid back, that was NOT protective dog as our next dog. I said NO Shepherd or Shepherd mix for LIFE! After all this my husband gets it. Not to mention Cookie is an amazing biking partner. We can go around town no leash needed. She is better trained than any dog he ever had before. He gets it now. 

So this whole crazy story got me Shepherds for life! When our old dog passes away we are going to forster Shepherds.


----------



## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

Well done Cookie! A speedy recovery Indy 
In 2014 in Australia, in separate incidents, 2 little dogs were eaten by pythons in their yards. On the Sunshine Coast in the 1970s, a little poodle was taken by a pelican. The distraught owner took a photo of the pelican flying away, with the dog's chain trailing behind.


----------



## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

The coyotes are very large in the Tahoe area. So happy it worked out.

I used to live on the Ca side (Taylor Way). Friends lost there big GSD male to coyotes down the hill in Strawberry. He let his dog out back to pee and his dog picked up a scent and took off in a bee line across the meadow. He grabbed the binoculars to see and there was a coyote at the edge of the treeline. He looked for him for several days and all they found was some blood, fur and his red collar. 

Fish & Game told him that the packs are so smart, sometimes they will send a female in to lay scent and then the rest of the pack will be waiting in treeline. No dog has a chance.

We were walking along the road out our back door to Fallen Leaf Lake one morning. A coyote dropped down on the road and was actually stalking us. We reported it because of the rabies concern.

Please be careful! Your little one is so fortunate. If it had been more than one, you may have lost both your dogs.


----------



## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Last week, our humane society put out a warning to small dog owners. Two of the dogs they brought up on a flight last month were taken by predator birds.

One by owl and one by hawk right in their own backyards. Another incident - really strange. Middle of the day in one of the highrise condo's downtown, an owl (middle of the day) flew into an open window on the 7th floor and attacked a canary in a cage. Killed the canary and took off..... things are getting weird, the wildlife seems to be getting less fearful of man as time goes on.


----------



## RZZNSTR (Jan 24, 2015)

Well done! Wild story with a happy ending! Coyotes are not shy about snatching a small dog or cat. Be careful with your small pets. This worked out good. Coyotes will hope the fence into your backyard and steal a meal whatever that may be..


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Stonevintage said:


> Last week, our humane society put out a warning to small dog owners. Two of the dogs they brought up on a flight last month were taken by predator birds.
> 
> One by owl and one by hawk right in their own backyards. Another incident - really strange. Middle of the day in one of the highrise condo's downtown, an owl (middle of the day) flew into an open window on the 7th floor and attacked a canary in a cage. Killed the canary and took off..... things are getting weird, the wildlife seems to be getting less fearful of man as time goes on.


I tell you when this happened to my pup I completrly freaked out. He was never allowed outside alone and got a long time until I felt he was to big to get carried away I stayed right with him. Whatever tried taking him had a huge wing span. It was quite scary. An Eagle took a med size dog not long ago...


----------



## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

llombardo said:


> I tell you when this happened to my pup I completrly freaked out. He was never allowed outside alone and got a long time until I felt he was to big to get carried away I stayed right with him. Whatever tried taking him had a huge wing span. It was quite scary. An Eagle took a med size dog not long ago...


It's great you have a "pack" now, less likely to happen. I will never forget the day when the 2 bald eagles ended up over my backyard 3 months ago. Summer was jumping up trying to bite one (dummy puppy). But she was 45lbs and the birds were trying to dodge 8 angry crows, not hunting. The people where I live (North Idaho) report the same as what you experienced. Their dog yelping, huge wingspan and by the time they got to the door, gone....

Very sad, but when we live close to nature, well, sometimes mother nature is a bitch. Different rules.


----------



## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Stonevintage said:


> Fish & Game told him that the packs are so smart, sometimes they will send a female in to lay scent and then the rest of the pack will be waiting in treeline. No dog has a chance.


Yep pretty much! Well trained dog is "always" the best protection against the unexpected! Dog comes when called!


----------



## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Stonevintage said:


> It's great you have a "pack" now, less likely to happen. I will never forget the day when the 2 bald eagles ended up over my backyard 3 months ago. Summer was jumping up trying to bite one (dummy puppy). But she was 45lbs and the birds were trying to dodge 8 angry crows, not hunting. The people where I live (North Idaho) report the same as what you experienced. Their dog yelping, huge wingspan and by the time they got to the door, gone....
> 
> Very sad, but when we live close to nature, well, sometimes mother nature is a bitch. Different rules.


They are there now (this year)??? I think it was 8 years ago, cold front from the North lasted for weeks! Bald Eagles came to Dayton!

Landed on the back fence??? Gunther (Bull Mastiff/APBT/Lab) charged them barking like crazy! Struddell tried to follow... 65 lb White Boxer!! I immediately scooped her up!! 

There was no mistaking Gunther for prey! But Struddell?? Near sighted Eagle might have thought she was a "weird" looking sheep!


----------



## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Pepper311 said:


> Thanks everyone! We are very proud of our little Rescue pup.
> Coyotes are around all day here too not just night this all happened at 9:30am.
> 
> My husband thought he wanted an easy, laid back, that was NOT protective dog as our next dog. I said NO Shepherd or Shepherd mix for LIFE! After all this my husband gets it. Not to mention Cookie is an amazing biking partner. We can go around town no leash needed. She is better trained than any dog he ever had before. He gets it now.
> ...


 At the risk of offending the rare folks that may have an agility trained Pitt?? By and large "wildlife" laughs at them! Pitts come in all sizes and people "specialize" in creating American Bandawgs...Piit/BullDog/Mastiff mixes. But by and large they move like dump trucks!

Rabbits would routinely cut right across Gunthers path!! BullMastiff/APBT/lab mix, he moved like a dump truck!  But when they ran across my Boxer...it was game on!

They would try to burn her off on the straights and that never worked! She was always within two or three Boxer length of them! Then they would always do a hard right in the brush and back down the straight! I watch the rabbit sail off in the distance! Struddell still looking in the brush! Worked everytime...goofy dog! 

Even in his prime your Pitt might not have been able to save your little guy in a race! The Coyote "knew" with the GSD in a foot race it was game on!


----------



## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Chip18 said:


> They are there now (this year)??? I think it was 8 years ago, cold front from the North lasted for weeks! Bald Eagles came to Dayton!
> 
> Landed on the back fence??? Gunther (Bull Mastiff/APBT/Lab) charged them barking like crazy! Struddell tried to follow... 65 lb White Boxer!! I immediately scooped her up!!
> 
> There was no mistaking Gunther for prey! But Struddell?? Near sighted Eagle might have thought she was a "weird" looking sheep!


I don't know what's going on but it was a super mild winter here and some of the eagle pairs didn't migrate because Wolf Lodge Bay - 4 miles to the East of the city (where the Kokanee and larger land locked salmon hang out) never came close to freezing over.

Our local city crows and ravens seem to be taking exception to them however and one of the battles just happened over my backyard. I don't know what diameter a bald eagle needs to have in their talons to balance and support their weight, but I watched them try to land on the high power lines -no go, the fence - no go, the cherry and boxwood branches, nope - one ended up "spread eagled" so to speak on the top of my metal roofed shop, just slid, slid, slid - If I wasn't so much in awe, I would have been laughing my ass off.....


----------



## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

That's interesting I did not know the Eagles were here??? Birds don't seem to like Dayton!
When I was working off Arrowhead in Carson City I would see Magpies everyday at lunch time. I have never seen them in Dayton!

Lazy freaking birds! I guess the extra 18 miles to Dayton is to much trouble for them!


----------



## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

llombardo said:


> An Eagle took a med size dog not long ago...


Thanks!!! So my fears for Struddels safety were not unfounded! 

Over protective "Boxer" Daddy!


----------



## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Sorry, I thought you were in "the Dayton" Ohio. So, when we here in North Idaho do have severe winters, it's interesting that you guys get some extra wild "wild life" in Nevada.

The winter 8 years ago was awesome! It looked like a winter storybook town here. The snow was so heavy on the roofs, all traffic shut down. All resources ran out here so I had to order a roof rake from Minnesota Fed Ex. My shop roof is rated for 23lbs psf and the daily weather reports were saying 26-29 psf. I only lost a Home Depot garden shed, crushed it like a cracker.

I was armpit deep in my yard trying to roof rake. It was so much fun


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

A couple weeks ago a hawk landed on a bush right outside the door at work. The guys walked right past it and it didn't budge, it was eating baby robins out of a nest The mama robin kept swooping down and attacking the hawk, I felt bad for the robin. So I went out there with an umbrella and opened it towards the hawk, at first it didn't move, but finally it left. I put the umbrella in the bushes, the hawk moved it. I finally got the umbrella in there so it wouldn't move.



Eagles used to just pass thru in January but now they are staying. They are being spotted everywhere. 

This picture is from the state park they hang out at.


----------



## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

I try to just take a different path when stuff like this is happening. What three punk kids did to three baby pigeons here last month.....

I have to avoid this stuff, hits me hard, there's no good answer - just let it go....


----------



## Chai (Dec 11, 2014)

Whoaaa I can't imagine having coyotes to worry about, luckily for us, Dingos are pretty rare, even when you're outback.

Go Indy and Cookie!!


----------



## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

Chip18 said:


> At the risk of offending the rare folks that may have an agility trained Pitt?? By and large "wildlife" laughs at them! Pitts come in all sizes and people "specialize" in creating American Bandawgs...Piit/BullDog/Mastiff mixes. But by and large they move like dump trucks!
> 
> Rabbits would routinely cut right across Gunthers path!! BullMastiff/APBT/lab mix, he moved like a dump truck!  But when they ran across my Boxer...it was game on!
> 
> ...


I think what my shepherd had more than speed alone was Lighting fast reflexes and she is much smarter than my pit ever was. 

You don't know Meatball. He was a lean pit with muscles in all the right places. Crazy strong legs deep chest. He use to run away a lot. One time we were walking him by a camp ground near our house. A person came up to us and said "Is that your dog?" " yeah why?" The guy goes on to tell us " I saw your dog being chased by 3 coyotes the other day. We are happy to see he is alive." I have seen this dog go after bears and chase small ones up a tree. He was crazy. He is 13 years old now and will not be around much longer. 

Meatball was super dog. He is like no other pit I have ever known. He was very serious and determined in everything he did. He hiked down a mountain with a ripped pad. I had no idea till we got home. Not your normal goofy clowns that pits tend to be. He had crazy ball drive. 

I agree most of the pits you see today are all too big and very very clumsy. They are jokes. Meatball was from the pound here is a photo of him when he was maybe 7 years old. He was not your average pitbull. 

P8150017 by Sarah Ireland, on Flickr


----------



## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

One more of old meatball. He could swim like a freaking Seal. 

P8210254 by Sarah Ireland, on Flickr


----------

