A heroic Jack Russel terrier has saved the life of their 10-year-old owner after the boy was stalked by a giant wolf in a small rural Russian town. The incident was captured on CCTV.
The incident happened when the boy was outside of his home playing with the dog and his friends, but little did he know that a large wolf was emerging from its hiding spot in the forest, most likely waiting to make an attack on the youngster. Just before the wolf could strike, it was noticed by Jessie who immediately moved like a bullet towards the hiding wolf, barking and snarling in an attempt to protect the boy and his friends.
The boy, Yemelyan, was immediately startled by Jessie's attack and, on seeing the wolf, ran for help. Seconds after Jessie attacked, the wolf began to run back into the forest and squeals of pain could then be heard.
When Yemelyan's father and his friends, armed with guns, reached the scene, they could see no sign of the wolf or Jessie but made their way into the forest in an attempt to find the dog. The dog and the wolf were found soon after, with the wolf holding Jessie in its mouth. While the wolf ran away, it left Jessie behind. Sadly the dog died shortly after reaching a veterinary clinic.
Yemelyan's father, Ruslan, told reporters:
"I called my friends and they quickly arrived, following the wolf's trail. The tragedy happened at about 7pm and 20 minutes later we rescued the dog. The wolf dropped the dog, feeling he was being trailed. The dog was still alive, we brought her to the vet clinic, it is about 200 kilometres (125 miles) away, but they said they could not do anything, and just injected a painkiller. We drove on to Syktyvkar, and they promised to help, but the dog died in the arms of my wife."
There is now considerable fear within the local community of Sindor, which sits in the far-north of Russia within the Arctic circle. The small town has a population of only 2,000 people.
A group of hunters has also been licensed and permitted to go and hunt down the wolf, which local authorities fear could pose a threat to other children and animals in the area. Wolf attacks are extremely rare occurrences and usually only happen if a wolf is trapped or injured and approached by humans, or if they are driven to extreme hunger. Wolves will almost always avoid people when possible.
It is believed that between 1950 and 2002, there were only 8 fatal wolf attacks known to have occurred in both Europe and the Soviet Union, though the number may be higher if the individual was killed and their body was then eaten or not recovered. In medieval times, the number of people killed by wolves was somewhat higher, but still relatively low. Between the years 1200 and 1920 in France, there were over 7,000 fatalities blamed on wolves.
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