Dog bravely chases away large mountain lion to protect his family

It’s amazing how loyal dogs are to their owners. We’ve seen so many stories of brave pets stepping up to defend their owners when they’re in danger — even if it means putting their own lives at risk.

Like one brave dog, who faced down a mountain lion who threatened his family.

Mary Padres, from La Verne, California, screamed after coming face-to-face with a large, wild mountain lion right in her own backyard: “The mountain lion was looking right at me,” Mary told CBS Los Angeles. “It was huge.”

But Mary’s dogs went into guard mode to defend the household. Both dogs barked at the mountain lion trying to scare it away — and then Rocky, the smaller of the two dogs, decided to chase the animal away.

Proving that sometimes big heroes come in small packages, Rocky fearlessly chased down the larger, fiercer cat, chasing him up a hill.

Unfortunately, the big cat fought back, leaving Rocky with some serious scars: “We saw the hole all the way down to his brain,” Mary recalled.

After seeing Rocky bravely step up to defend the family, Mary returned the favor, heading outside to look for the dog, even with the mountain lion nearby.

According to CBS LA, the mountain lion is still on the loose, but thankfully Rocky survived the ordeal, scarred but alive. He reportedly had eight large puncture wounds and received 30 stitches from the vet.

His owner was very grateful for him, knowing he sacrificed his own safety to protect her: “To make sure that I was OK, that’s the whole reason he went after that mountain lion,” Mary said.