Furgus — a 14-month-old Australian shepherd and black-mouth cur mix — likes to hunt the voles that dig tunnels through Shawne and Shannon Leach’s yard near the edge of the Keystone Ranch Golf Course. But this past weekend, the hunter became the hunted.

On Saturday, Jan. 27, a mountain lion attacked Furgus in his backyard. Yet, somehow, his owners tracked down the mountain lion — coming face to face with the cat — and rescued their pet.

“The whole time we were tracking him we didn’t have any fear for ourselves. That cat was not going to take our dog,” Shawne Leach said. “We were so determined to get him back. Who could have thought I could face a cougar 5 feet in front of me and not be absolutely petrified?”

Around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Shawne Leach heard an odd “yelp” from outside as she sat down to eat dinner. She said she went to the door and called out to Furgus, who had recently been let out to pee, but there was no response.

So, she got her husband, who grabbed a flashlight and went outside. But he returned quickly after finding blood in the snow.

“He told me to suit up because he thought the mountain lion had Furgus and we’d probably never see him again but — by golly — we’re going to go look,” Shawne Leach said.

The snow was close to 2 feet deep, so forging a path was difficult. Shawne Leach had a flashlight and began to crawl to move over the snow more easily. Meanwhile, her husband, equipped with a handgun, trudged through the snow behind her.

The couple tracked the cat through their backyard, across the Snake River, which was frozen, and to the edge of the golf course.

“The tracks of the cougar were very easy to follow because they were big,” Shawne Leach said.

That’s when Shawne Leach saw a green glow that she recognized as Furgus’s light-up collar. She said she started shouting to her husband behind her and shined her flashlight on Furgus, who was “laid out like he was ready to be put in a coffin.”

“I thought, ‘If he’s dead, at least we’re not going to let that cougar eat him,” Shawne Leach said.

At first, Shawne Leach didn’t notice the mountain lion at all. Then, she raised the flashlight just slightly, revealing a huge, muscular cat looming over Furgus. She said she was barely 5 feet away.

Shawne Leach said she started shouting “go away, go away” at the mountain lion as her husband ran to catch up with her. Then, Furgus lifted his head and looked in her direction.

“I (shouted) back to Shannon, ‘Furgus is still alive. We’ve got to save him,'” Shawne Leach said. “I’m yelling at Shannon, ‘Shoot it! Shoot it!’ That thing (had) its mouth open and (was) hissing at me.”

Shannon Leach fired a shot into the ground. But the mountain lion didn’t move, Shawne Leach said. So, he fired another shot, this time in the direction of the cat — sending the predator fleeing into the night.

Furgus stood up and walked up to Shawne Leach. One of the dog’s eyes was hanging out of its socket but otherwise he still had all his limbs and did not appear to have been damaged neurologically, she said.

Still in deep snow, the couple started to shout for help without success. When they realized that the dog could walk pretty well, they retraced their steps back to the house, where they called their neighbors, Boyd and Debora Mitchell.

“We were just in the right place at the right time,” Boyd Mitchell said. “And we had a full tank of gas, so we took the family to the hospital.”

He said it’s what any good neighbor would do.

By the time Furgus and his owners arrived at Evolution Veterinary Specialists in Lakewood, veterinarians had prepared a surgical suite, Shawne Leach said. While they were not able to save his eye, Furgus pulled through.

Still shaken by the encounter, Shawne Leach and her husband retraced their steps the next day, realizing how quickly the whole scenario played out — from noticing that Furgus was gone to coming face-to-face with the mountain lion.

“Start to finish it was a half-hour,” Shawne Leach said. “It felt like an eternity, and I felt like I was deep in the jungle, the deep forest. It certainly didn’t feel like the backyard and the perimeter of the golf course.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Rachel Gonzales confirmed the wildlife encounter Monday. 

Also known as cougars, panthers and pumas, mountain lions are elusive predators and a crucial part of the state’s ecosystem, according to the Parks and Wildlife website. Their population size in Colorado is estimated at 3,800-4,400.

Mountain lions stalk prey and attack with a sudden rush — often from behind — using powerful jaws to break the windpipe or break the neck of their prey, the website states. An adult male mountain lion can be up to 8 feet in length and weigh up to 150 pounds, while females may be up to 7 feet long and 90 pounds.

“Mountain lion encounters do happen, and, yes, mountain lions do live in Summit County. That is mountain lion habitat,” Gonzales said. “It’s not uncommon to have them there. They are elusive animals, so a lot of time you may not even know they’re there.”

Mountain lions prefer to hunt deer but will also hunt elk, porcupines, small mammals, livestock and domesticated pets. People rarely get more than a brief glimpse of a mountain lion in the wild, according to Parks and Wildlife, but people who do encounter the creature in the wild should remain calm.

Those who encounter a mountain lion should talk calmly yet firmly to the lion and make eye contact with it while backing slowly away. Running may stimulate a mountain lion’s instinct to chase and attack, the state’s guide for living with lions says.

To appear larger to the lion, stand on a rock and open up your jacket, placing any object you have between yourself and the predator. If the lion behaves aggressively, throw stones or branches at it.

Gonzales said after the encounter in Keystone, wildlife officers searched for the mountain lion but did not find it. The state does not believe that the mountain lion was shot.

The encounter highlights the importance of keeping a close eye on pets in mountain lion country, Gonzales said.

“Don’t just let them outside,” she said. “If you’re taking them for a walk, keep them on a leash. Oftentimes, if a pet is kind of roaming by itself it does make it easy prey for a mountain lion.”

Residents can also take active steps to deter mountain lions from visiting their property, like turning on outdoor lights and making loud noises when leaving or returning to the house at dusk and dawn, Gonzales said. The goal is to make the mountain lion “super uncomfortable” with being around the home, she said.

After the mountain lion encounter this week, Shawne Leach said she is scared that the predator might return. Furgus is a bit sleepier than usual and has been taking more naps with her on the sofa as he recovers, she said.

The dog is still getting used to losing vision in one eye but came out of the animal hospital with his tail wagging, Shawne Leach added. Furgus still has his nose down any time he’s out in the yard, hunting for voles, she said.

“We were going to get that dog back, and we did,” Shawne Leach said. “He’s alive, and we’re going to have him for a long time.”