Heroic German Shepherd protects owner from aggressive rabid bobcat
Prescott, Arizona – An Arizona German Shepherd named Moses is being hailed as a hero: the dog protected his human by killing a rabid bobcat that attacked her.
On Monday morning, Moses' owner was walking through her neighborhood when a bobcat attacked.
"This cat came at me and jumped me," the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told her local news station.
"I thought it was a coyote because we don’t have bobcats around here. So, I pushed it away, and it came right back."
The woman says the wild animal scratched her and then went after her dog.
Her German Shepherd wasn't about to let his human get hurt and jumped into action.
"I wanted him to get away, but when I got back, he had killed the bobcat," the woman explained. She said Moses broke the bobcat's neck in her driveway.
Moses' human called him a hero. She added, "He's an amazing dog, and he's also very sweet."
The bobcat had attacked multiple people and pets
The bobcat that Moses killed is likely responsible for multiple incidents in the Prescott area, per the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office's Facebook post.
On Sunday, YCSO deputies responded to a bobcat attack that left a male victim with significant injuries, which required treatment at a local hospital.
The following day, another incident was reported seven and a half miles from the initial attack. Shortly thereafter, Moses killed the bobcat.
"Because this is extremely rare behavior for bobcats, it is likely the same animal was involved in all four incidents; however, this has not yet been officially confirmed," officers wrote on Facebook.
The bobcat was taken to the Arizona Game and Fish Department. A test confirmed that the animal had rabies.
Luckily, Moses, who was injured in the attack, is up-to-date on his rabies vaccination, but he will have to be quarantined for the next six weeks.
Moses' human is also undergoing rabies treatment, which is painful but necessary, as the disease can be deadly.
Cover photo: Unsplash/@loriayre