California trail runners fight off mountain lion after snatching dog

Two men say they saved their dog from a mountain lion attack while on a trail run near Ojai earlier this month.

Ross Monroe, who'd recently adopted his dog, "Carter," and his 'running buddy' Pete Deneen, were on the Sisar Canyon trail when they heard the dog make a yelp or noise behind them.

Monroe said he turned and saw Carter in the jaws of a 'healthy looking' mountain lion.

"The mountain lion had picked Carter up by the back of the neck and head and started to run away from us making his way, towards the brush, towards the creek, to claim him I guess," Monroe told NBCLA Friday.

He said Deneen, who's 6-foot-3, ran towards the mountain lion with his arms raised and yelled, which apparently, startled the lion.

"It dropped Carter," Monroe said, then watched as the lion made its way toward an oak tree, "tried to grab the oak tree, stumbled, fell on its back, and then took off into the brush."

Carter had suffered serious puncture wounds on his head and his left ear was torn.

The men and Carter then ran more than 3 miles back to their cars and drove to a veterinarian, Deneen said.

"The ear was the most significant of the injuries, but no fractures, his airway was intact," Monroe said.

Deneen, who's an environmental writer and teacher, grew up in the area but said he'd never seen a mountain lion before, and the danger and extraordinary nature of what happened didn't sink in immediately.

"We were definitely in shock the entire way back," Deneen said, and later thought," we just saved his dog from a mountain lion! What an amazing feeling."

He said he and Monroe met while doing volunteer work after the Thomas Fire burned through parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in 2017.

They often go on trail runs together, and both wonder what would have happened had either of them confronted the mountain lion alone.

"I don't know if either of us, can muster the bravery if we're alone in that moment, you know," Deneen said.

Monroe, who's a physician assistant, said Carter has some big scars from the punctures and tears in his head and neck but has mostly recovered.

He said he's already returned to the Sisar trail with Carter.

“It’s not going to stop me from going out there, it’s our backyard," he said of the wilderness around Santa Paula and in the Upper Ojai Valley. "It’s what we know and love to do.”

Carter sat between the men during their interview with NBCLA, and seemingly on cue, climbed onto Deneen's lap and nuzzled his face when he talked about saving the dog from the mountain lion.

"It's an inseparable bond now," Monroe joked, "I lost my dog -- not to a mountain lion -- but to Pete!"