Hiker thanks Metallica for saving her life after she fends of a cougar by blasting it with their song ‘Don’t Tread on Me’
- Dee Gallant was walking her husky retriever, eight, on Vancouver Island, Canada
- They came across a hostile cougar and the wild cat began to stalk towards them
- Ms Gallant played a song by rock band Metallica to scare the wild cougar off
A Canadian woman has revealed how she played a Metallica song to scare off a wild cougar that was heading towards her.
Dee Gallant was walking her eight-year-old husky retriever Murphy on Vancouver Island, Canada when her evening stroll was interrupted by the hostile cat.
Initially, she attempted to take a photo of the cougar but the animal began stalking towards her and her pet.
Attempts at intimidating the cat by shouting and waving her arms failed and so Ms Gallant played Metallica’s 1991 hit Don’t Tread on Me.
It worked and the cat instantly bolted after hearing the song.
Ms Gallant has revealed that the legendary band’s singer, James Hetfield, has been in touch since her story emerged.
Dee Gallant was walking her eight-year-old husky retriever Murphy on Vancouver Island, Canada when they came across the cougar
Speaking about her near miss with the cat, she told Canada Global News: ‘It was an evening so it started to get a bit dusky. We got a little ways up and I saw something watching me.
‘I looked off to my right, and there he was, just standing there, staring at me.
‘At first, I wasn’t intimidated. I thought, ”Wow. This is really cool. Look at that cougar”.
‘Then I thought, ”Wait a minute, that’s a cougar.”’
As the animal stalked towards her, she scoured through her iPhone’s music library before playing the heavy rock classic at full blast.
The cougar stalked towards them, ignoring Ms Gallant’s attempts to scare it off by shouting and waving her arms, before she played the Metallica song (stock photo)
She said: ‘I thought it was perfect because it gives him the message that I want to send, and it’s a really intimidating-sounding song.
‘I immediately put it on and I held it up high in the air. As soon as he heard the first note, he bolted. He was just gone.’
After Ms Gallant’s story was picked up by news outlets across the world, she was contacted by Metallica’s artist liaison early on Friday morning, before being called by James Hetfield later that afternoon.
Metallica’s James Hetley contacted Ms Gallant and sent her this photo after hearing about her story
She said: ‘I couldn’t even believe he was calling me. I had hoped I would hear from them but when I first put it out there I didn’t expect it to go this far.’
According to Ms Gallant, the two chatted for a few moments about her encounter with the cat.
She said: ‘He was just an absolutely wonderful guy, very down to earth and he even knew Murphy’s name. I still can’t believe James Hetfield knows my dog’s name.’
After the call, Hetfield sent the stunned fan a photo of himself holding up the classic devil horns with a wide grin.
His message read: ‘Thought you might like some confirmation that it was me.’
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has also commented on the story and shared an article from USA Today on Facebook.