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Brave Dog Chases Off Leopard As It Tries To Get Into Owner's House In India

A wild leopard has been fought off by a brave pet dog, guarding the entrance of a residential home in India's Maharashtra state with the whole encounter being captured on CCTV.

In the footage there is a face off between the two animals, and the big cat is seen on the prowl and creeps towards the entrance of the house before it encounters the dog in the corner and is surprised by its presence.

The dog quickly stands on all fours and begins to aggressively bark loudly to prevent the big cat from edging closer.

The leopard then becomes scared and runs away into the darkness. 

The encounter took place in Rahuri Taluka, which is in the Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra - where the climate is generally hot and dry, a perfect condition for a leopard.

According to a research study in 2014 by Athreya et al a "widespread occurrence of leopards across India" has been documented in the Ahmednagar district of western Maharashtra.

Looking into a DNA analysis, the study found Leopard droppings very close to residential homes. Many droppings were found on paved roads close to human habitats. The distance from the droppings to houses would range from 10 to 850 metres, suggesting that the wild animal do venture into residential areas.

The study also found that "dogs are an important food resource" for leopards as they are frequently found in the Maharashtra state.

They also compared goats to dogs as a food resource for the wild cats, stating "goats are less accessible" than dogs, being actively herded throughout the day and enclosed in sheds at night.

In a similar hero dog incident in January this year, a leopard was caught on camera attacking a pet dog in the city Ramnagar, in the state of Karnataka. The entire incident was recorded on a CCTV camera installed in the area.

In this incident, the dog retaliates, bites and defends itself, and the wild cat is scared off, yet again.

Owner Adopts Her Dog's Son After Discovering He's Been In Shelter For Years

Ever since Claire Hughes got her dog from Fetch + Release, an organization that rehomes dogs in need, she has done everything she could to provide her with the best life she could.

A few years before finding her forever home, Dolly, now 11, a Catahoula leopard dog and beagle mix, gave birth to six puppies. While they all made it into homes over time, one pup named Cheddar had ended up back in the rescue shelter and was yet to find his happy ending.

That was, until Hughes, from Hamilton, Ontario, learned about his ongoing search for a family. After seeing how much difference it can make to a dog's life, she knew that adopting Cheddar was the right call, telling Newsweek that having a "mother and child reunion makes it even more meaningful."

Dolly on the left, beside her biological son, Cheddar. Cheddar is now almost a senior himself at nine years old, but he's finally returned to his mother's side. Claire Hughes

Cheddar spent seven years on a farm in Tennessee, before being moved to Canada in 2021, where he waited for another two years at the rescue center until finally finding his forever home.

Hughes said: "We're in a place where we have a home with a really big backyard, we both work from home, and we love dogs, so why not adopt Dolly's son? Everything from the post made him seem like he had a similar temperament and mannerisms to her, and she is the absolute light of our lives.

"Cheddar came for a visit to see if they'd get along, and Dolly bounded up to him immediately. In many ways, the deal was sealed right there. Our main decision factor was making sure they got along."

In just over a week, Cheddar settled perfectly into his new home, and he's even started to form a friendship with Norman the cat. Hughes has enjoyed seeing the mother-son relationship grow between Dolly and Cheddar, and she said "it's the cutest thing" when he rests his head on his mom to fall asleep.

After observing the dogs together, Hughes even noticed that Cheddar has some of "the same neuroses" as his mom, including the need to only walk on rugs rather than the hardwood floor. "They seem to be cheering each other on when they face their fears," she joked.

He may now be nine years old, but Cheddar has found his way back to his birth mom, and the two get to live out the rest of their years together.

On October 31, Hughes shared a picture of her new addition on Reddit, as user u/claireahhhhh. The post, titled: "We adopted our dog's son, and it's going very well," has warmed many hearts online as it's already generated over 9,400 votes on Reddit.

Dolly (left) and Cheddar (right) looking cosy in similar positions. Cheddar has many similar mannerisms to his mother. Claire Hughes

The social media reaction has been hugely positive, and Hughes hopes that the tale of Dolly and Cheddar's reunion will encourage more people to adopt pets.

"Adopting a dog can be such a gratifying experience and senior dogs have so much love to give. If our home becomes a retirement community for nice creatures, we would be very lucky," she said.

Since the Reddit post went viral, plenty of people have commented to share their praise for Hughes. One comment reads: "I love them all! What a beautiful family."

Dolly, Cheddar and the family cat, Norman. Cheddar was reunited with his mom after struggling to find a forever home. Claire Hughes

Another person commented: "Yours looks like a serene place for pets, no wonder they love it. And each other!"

While other Redditors were most impressed by Norman, as one person wrote: "Blown away by the cat. Must be a chill cat."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.Com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Every Dog Is 'The Best Dog'

Nov. 4—"The Best Dog: Hilarious to Heartwarming Portraits of the Pups We Love" by Aliza Eliazarov with Edward Doty. Ten Speed Press, 240 pages, $25.

L ike a lot of folks, Aliza Eliazarov and Ed Doty adopted a puppy during the pandemic, and promptly fell in love with the fluffy creature they named Ducky.

The couple's adventures in dog parenting helped inspire their new book, which celebrates all the dogs we know and love. "The Best Dog" features poignant, funny and endearing photos of these creatures who inhabit our homes and our hearts.

Eliazarov is the manager of the humane education department at the SPCA in Stratham. She is the former lead photographer at BarkBox and cover story photographer for Modern Farmer magazine.

Dogs are special, she said. "The human-dog bond is really unique and really beautiful," she said.

That beauty shines through in "The Best Dog."

Whiskey, a sightless Pomeranian, tips his head to meet the caress of a brush; Boone the Newfoundland leans over a front porch railing like a welcoming neighbor; Rosie the Italian greyhound dances daintily on her hind legs and winks at the camera.

Eliazarov and Doty met in 2009 while both were attending the International Center of Photography in New York City. They've been together for 14 years, and married for eight.

Doty assists his wife on every photo shoot, and they co-write and co-produce their books. "Aliza always holds the camera and I do my best to do whatever is necessary to put her in the best position to take the most beautiful picture," Doty said.

Their first collaboration was on the 2020 book, "On the Farm," featuring Eliazarov's portraits of the "heritage and heralded" animals who live and work on farmsteads.

That book, of course, included working dogs, Eliazarov said.

"The heart of any farm is their farm dog," she said. "They might be very proud of their heritage animals, but they love their dogs."

After that project, Eliazarov and Doty knew they wanted their next book to focus on dogs. The idea crystallized during the pandemic for the couple, who moved to Kittery, Maine, in the summer of 2021.

"It was a time when for some people, their dog was all they had," Doty said. "In lockdown, that was their only contact with another being, so it kind of amplified that significance in a very poignant way."

They wanted this project to take a different approach, "shifting the focus to see it more around personality and companionship," he said. "Dogs were a great subject for focusing on that."

So Eliazarov photographed Ivy — a breeding female golden retriever surrendered to a rescue group — engulfed in puppies, her face revealing the patience — and weariness — of moms everywhere.

Iggy Pup, a Catahoula leopard dog with a "lust for life," drapes languidly on a velveteen couch. Kieran, an elegant Great Dane who lives with a famous interior designer in Washington, D.C., reclines on a white coverlet.

To find canine subjects to photograph, the couple put out a call on social media. They wanted to include compelling stories and unusual breeds.

But pandemic restrictions — and outbreaks — frequently confounded their travel plans. So they often focused right in their own Seacoast area.

They were stunned at the variety of rare breeds they found: a Nigerian street dog named Wahala, a Chinese village dog called Rigby and a Guam boonie dog named Tasi.

Eliazarov also made it a point to include dogs who had come into rescue and found their forever homes and families.

She also contacted Hancock naturalist and author Sy Montgomery and her husband, writer Howard Mansfield, to ask if she could photograph their dog, Thurber. "She said, 'Come over,'" Eliazarov said.

Thurber is "a ball-obsessed border collie," with an appreciation for classical music, Eliazarov said. "The oboe came on and he started singing," she said.

Their own dog, Ducky, a border collie mix who loves snow, the beach, people and other dogs, also helped them find other subjects to photograph, she said. "Some of Ducky's best friends are in the book," she said.

"Then it became friends of friends," she said. "The dogs we photographed, their people would tell us about other dogs."

Each photo session was a collaborative effort between photographer and subject, Eliazarov said. "The dog's safety and comfort is always paramount to me," she said. "If the dog felt uncomfortable or nervous, then the shoot was over."

She took hundreds of photos for every one that made it into the book, trying to capture each dog's essence. "There's this moment of connection between myself and my subject, and I feel it," she said.

The name of the new book was obvious from the start, Eliazarov said. "People would approach us: 'You have to photograph my dog. I have the best dog.'"

"It's true," she said. "Everybody does have the best dog — for them."

"The Best Dog" is dedicated to Ducky, their own best dog. "He doesn't know it yet because he can't read ... Yet," Eliazarov said. "That's the next thing we have to teach him."

Eliazarov hopes the book will have a broad appeal — "everyone who wants a dog, loves a dog, has a dog," she said. "If you hate dogs, it's not for you."

"It might turn you around, though," her husband added.

"What I think people will love about this book is not only are there beautiful portraits but there are also really touching stories and funny stories," Eliazarov said. "So that even if the reader's dog isn't in this book, they will see their dogs in the stories and in the portraits."

"They could always just glue their dog's photo on the last page," she suggested.

swickham@unionleader.Com

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