CHINO VALLEY, AZ (CBS5) -
Apollo is a beautiful Labrador pit bull mix. He's an obedient man's best friend to his owner, Brandon Arnold.
Arnold said he loves his buddy even more after last weekend.
"Pretty much just a normal camping morning until a mountain lion attacked my dog," Arnold said.
He's from Chino Valley and decided to head down I-17 to camp just downstream of Sheep Bridge off Bloody Basin Road with a group of friends.
"The dog was just hanging out, playing, trying to get me to throw a stick or rock or whatever. The mountain lion just came right out of the mesquite and attacked the dog," he said.
Game and Fish confirmed the mountain lion had rabies.
Arnold said the mountain lion jumped on top of Apollo and just wouldn't let go.
"And I just started screaming and running around, looking for something," he said.
Arnold found a cast iron skillet that came in pretty handy.
"Like that (swinging motion) and just smacked that sucker," he said.
Arnold's quick thinking kept his fellow campers safe.
Apollo got the worst of it.
"See that? Look at his arm. And see all the scratches," Arnold pointed out.
Apollo is up to date on all his shots and came out pretty much unscathed, especially considering the size of his opponent.
"I'd say she was about 75 pounds, maybe a little bigger, but she was a good 6 to 8 inches longer than Apollo and three times as fast. I'm praying it never happens again," Arnold said.
Game and Fish said this is the third confirmed case of rabies in a mountain lion in Arizona in the past 10 years.
Officials said you should be very aware of your surroundings when you go camping.
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