Mountain Lion Stalks 4 CO Kids; Family's 'Hero' Dog Dies Saving Them

IDAHO SPRINGS, CO — A Colorado couple hailed their dog as a "hero" after it fought off a mountain lion that stalked their four children in their yard.

Virginia Havens told media outlets her children were on a swing set June 14 when their 2-year-old dog, Lady, a chihuahua pit bull-mix, started aggressively barking, which was atypical for her. Havens was inside cooking, and her husband, Daniel, was in the garage cleaning their car.

That's when Daniel saw a large mountain lion on the inside of their fence line.

“Isabella was on the swing facing this way and the cat was right behind her,” Havens told KDVR-TV.

Daniel screamed for them to get in the house and the kids started crying, "'Wolf!'"Havens, 37, told TODAY Parents.

Lady charged and fought the cougar as the family ran inside. The family doesn't own a gun, so Virginia ran to her daughter's bedroom on the second floor, flung open a window and threw roller skates at the lion. Daniel shot the lion with a BB gun.

Ultimately, Lady was no match for the lion. She became pinned, and the family called police.

"I heard her crying out which made me more frantic because, she was my fur baby," Havens told KCNC-TV.

Police shot at the lion with non-lethal rounds until it dropped the dog. At first, they thought she'd emerged OK.

"I'm like 'Oh my God! She's ok! She's alive!'" Havens told KCNC. "I'm calling her and she trots back up the back slope to the back door, but when she gets to the door I scream."

The lion left Lady with severe injuries. She was blooded and one of her eyes was bulging. Her breathing was labored breathing.

"She had three holes in her skull and the underside of her snout was punctured, which is why she couldn't breathe well," Havens told TODAY.

The Havens rushed her to an animal hospital, where they learned her injuries were too severe. She would need to be put down.

The family gave her one last kiss, thanked her, told her they loved her, and gave her a tearful goodbye. Doctors then put her to sleep.

"If she had not been there we would have had a completely different type of tragedy... she was absolutely our hero," Havens told KCNC