Out of the frying pan

We often pay tribute to those who stand up to bad animals on this blog, sometimes those who improvise impressively, like the woman who defended her dog from a bear with a zucchini.

In that story the bear was frightened away, but today's hero went a step further in the use of kitchen supplies for defense against bad animals. Brandon Arnold was camping with friends when his dog Apollo was attacked - at first, he thought, by another dog:

 Jones grabbed the neck of both animals to try to pull them apart. That's when they all figured out the other animal wasn't a dog.

Jones let go real fast. "I started screaming at the top of my lings, "Holy (bleep), it's a mountain lion!"

The lion ran into the mesquite bushes and Apollo ran after it while the men frantically looked for the nearest weapon... Arnold grabbed a 14-inch cast-iron skillet heating up on the propane stove and did what he had to do to save Apollo.

"The first time I had a clear shot I just swung the pan and hit him right on the head," Arnold said. "It was like a cartoon - he just kind of stopped and I hit him again. He got stiff and fell over." 

Even after tests came back showing that the mountain lion was rabid, Brandon Arnold downplayed his actions, saying he was just trying to save his dog. He was described as "sheepish" about his heroics: "It was the adrenaline," he said. "I'm not a badass or anything."

 "Badass" or not, Mr. Arnold, this blog salutes you.

 Thanks for the tip to the always interesting Nothing to Do with Arbroath. Sign that's obviously missing some important advice from Flickr user kmanohar.