We’ll never realize how loyal our dogs are until the moment we need them the most.

A woman found herself in one of the most terrifying situations when she was out in the wilderness. With no one to help her, she turned to the only soul she could trust.

Through the entire ordeal, Erin Wilson, 24, realized what people meant when they said pets can give unconditional love. And with that kind of love, they are willing to lay their lives down just to protect us.

Wilson, who lives in rural Trinity County, drove to Big Bar.

That afternoon, she took her dog Eva, a two-and-a-half-year-old Belgian Malinois, to a stroll through the wilderness.

The walk was uneventful at most which were perfect for people who were just looking for a way to wind down and ease. That is until danger lunged out from the bushes.

With Eva just a few yards in front of her, a mountain lion jumped at Wilson.

It took a swipe at Wilson and got her left shoulder. Once she realized she was in danger, Wilson quickly beckoned for her companion.

“I yelled ‘Eva!’ and she came running,” Wilson said to CBS News. “And she hit that cat really hard.”

Without regard for her own safety, Eva lunged at the cougar in retaliation. With just 55 pounds worth of strength, she was easily outmatched by the cougar.

Nonetheless, Eva fought on and she fought hard.

“They fought for a couple of seconds, and then I heard her start crying,” Wilson said to the news outlet.

The cougar bit Eva’s head and was not letting go. To rescue her dog, Wilson hurled rocks and sticks at the lion. At one point, she was able to muster her courage and used her bare hands to fight the cougar. She tried to attack it with her fist, choke it, and gouged its eyes.

When none of it worked, she sprinted back to her car.

Once she reached her vehicle, she took her crowbar and flagged down a passing car. A driver stopped and asked what was wrong. Shannon Houston, the driver, grabbed a PVC pipe and pepper spray.

They ran back to where Eva and the lion were. Fortunately, the lion wasn’t far off from where Wilson left them. Together, they attacked the lion with pepper spray which finally forced it to scamper away.

Eva was then rushed to the hospital.

She has blood everywhere and her condition was slowly declining. She has endured two skull fractures, a punctured sinus cavity, and severe damage to her left eye.

Eva was even having seizures on the way back to the hospital. All the while, Wilson was crying for Eva to hold on.

Fortunately, Eva’s condition stabilized when she was treated.

In a video posted by the Sacramento Bee, Wilson picked Eva up from the facility. Wilson got out with minor injuries while Eva made a full recovery.

“I would do anything for her and I know now she would pretty much do anything for me.” She said, and if that doesn’t show what loyalty should look like, I don’t know what will.

Watch how a Belgian Malinois fought off a cougar just to save her human.

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Source: YouTube – Sacramento Bee, CBS, NBC