If you have a dog, then you want to make sure they are protected from all sorts of danger. In many cases, pets can be seriously injured after eating something poisonous or running into the street. But what about encounters with wild animals? While not all that common, attacks on pets by wild animals do happen and can leave a dog injured or worse.

Fortunately, for one family, their German shepherd came to the rescue when the family’s Chihuahua came under attack by coyotes.

A dog in trouble

It all started when a family heard a commotion outside of their home. Going outside, the family found their dogs Turbo and Pepe in a dangerous situation.

“All of the sudden we heard Turbo barking, and we came out and two or three coyotes had attacked Pepe,” the dogs’ owner Daria Gagnon told Castanet.net. “They were going round and round, and if the Shepherd hadn’t moved in on them to defend him … he saved his life.”

Turbo saved his tiny pal’s life

According to the dogs’ owner, Ray Gagnon, Turbo had been bred to be a Royal Canadian Mounted Police K9. As such he was very protective of his family, which included tiny Pepe.

Pepe survived the attack but had to have three hours of surgery, which included 37 stitches. All told, Pepe ended up with 24 puncture wounds from the bites of the coyotes, as well as an eye and ear injury. If not for the quick action of Turbo, things could have been way worse for Pepe.

How to protect your dog from a coyote attack

While wild animal attacks on dogs are not common, they do occur, especially if you live in a more rural area. Fortunately, as a dog owner, you can take steps to protect your pet from such attacks.

This includes keeping your dog on a leash when walking them outside. The natural reaction of a dog, when confronted with a threat, is to bark, but sometimes they also give chase. Coyotes are intelligent animals and will use this to their advantage to get a dog alone and then attack in numbers.

A leash should keep your dog close and prevent them from falling for this tactic and giving chase.

When at home, make sure to monitor your dog and keep them in a fenced-in yard if you must keep them outside. Have a security camera installed that will allow you to check in on them from time to time. This should also allow you to bring them inside if you see wild animals in the area.

Another great coyote deterrent is to install an outdoor light. Coyotes are especially wary of bright lights, and having a motion-sensor light installed outside your home might be enough to keep them away. Most importantly, don’t leave out food or garbage outside of your home, which might attract wild animals.

You can watch the video of Turbo’s brave act below.

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Source: Castanet News

H/T: Little Things, Huffpost, dogtime.com