Mijo's Recovery from a Mountain Lion Attack

If you know me or Lindsay at all, you know that our dogs mean the absolute world to us, go everywhere with us, and are treated like kings. A few days ago, we lived our absolute worst nightmare.


While visiting family up in Evergreen, CO, her 6lb, 15-year-old rescue Mijo was attacked by a mountain lion maybe 4 feet from the house. It all happened in a matter of horrifying seconds, and the only reason he is still alive is because Mijo's best friend Winston tried to attack the lion and chased it away. Mijo was bitten on the head, suffering lacerations to the scalp and neck, and his eye was popped out of the socket.

We wrapped him up and rushed him to the closest emergency vet, where they performed surgery to remove his damaged eye and close all of his wounds. They took x-rays, which showed that he miraculously had no skull fractures of any kind.

It is an absolute miracle that this little guy is still alive. There is no reason one bite from a mountain lion shouldn't have killed him. He could have easily been carried off, he could have easily suffered a broken back, neck, or a fractured skull. There is no reason that a wiener dog could have chase off a mountain lion in the middle of an attack. Yet, here he is.

He is alive, he is recovering, but we are afraid of possible permanent damage to his brain from the trauma. He has been very drugged up and is getting used to having only one eye, but he has a seemingly uncontrollable urge to walk in right hand circles, which prevents him from being able to reach his food and water bowl without help. We plan to take him to a veterinary neurologist if it continues, which would be another large expense for brain scans and treatment, in addition to everything else.

We are monitoring him 24/7 and are so impressed by his strength and determination to live. We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the love and support we have received from friends and family. This could be a long road to recovery, but we have no doubt that her little man will survive. 

THANK YOU SO MUCH

*In case you haven't read the updates and wonder why the goal increased: an MRI and Neurology consult will be an additional $3,000 expense on top of the $5,000 we have already spent on surgeries and ER visits in the last week. An MRI is the only way to determine if he has a blood clot or bleed that is causing the right cortical deficit or the seizure. Once we have the MRI, we can determine the next steps in treatment.

*We are absolutely blown away that we reached $8,000. Mijo has another Neurology appointment scheduled for 9am on Thursday and this should cover the consult, his MRI that we will hopefully schedule during his consult, and our expenses already paid! We are raising the goal while we have momentum to pay for whatever treatment will be after we have the MRI results as well as any unforeseen complications from surgeries/seizures, if you want to contribute to this future care.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=218DG7U4_HA