Florida man punches a bobcat to save family dog

A Florida man apparently saved his family dog by punching a bobcat. All of this took place on February 11 while the man was walking the dog in Orlando, Florida.

According to the New York Post,

"A Florida man reportedly fended off a bobcat attack on his daughter’s dog by swinging his fists, clocking the wild animal in the face."

So what exactly happened? It seems that during a normal dog walk, a bobcat pounced at the man, Paul Broadhurst, and his dog Koda.

Florida man saves his daughter’s dog from a bobcat with his fists

Apparently, the bobcat was able to get its teeth into Paul, which is part of why his fists were flying. Although he may be saying that he was protecting the dog, it is clear that this was also in protection of himself.

Basically, the bobcat pounced on the dog first and when he went to protect the dog, the bobcat attacked him. It seems that he was clawed while trying to defend the dog but while he did get scratched up, he was able to protect himself and the dog, sending the bobcat back into the trees where it came from.

Although bobcats are relatively common in Florida, it’s not that common to see them in well traveled neighborhoods. And apparently the neighborhood where this man was walking his dog is considered a high traffic area. This is an area where people normally walk their dogs and kids play. So it’s actually quite scary to think of this bobcat attacking in an area where normally there would be a lot of people, including young children.

According to Paul, the dog was very lucky to get away unscathed during this apparent attack. And honestly, it is clear that they were both very lucky as it could’ve gone much worse.

However, it is important to note that while this might be a high traffic area, it is a location built near a conservation area.

"Broadhurst’s home is next to a conservation area and Environmental Education Awareness Research Support’s Frank Robb suggested that people walking their pets should carry an object like a walking stick that they can put between their pets and any animal that is rabid or looking for food."

This means that there are any number of wild animals that you might come across in this section of Orlando. Even if you’re not in Orlando, Florida or living near a conservation area, we highly recommend walking your animal with some form of protection, such as that walking stick or even pepper spray, anyway. You just never know.