Woman takes on giant python to save dog

HONG KONG, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A 41-year-old woman in Hong Kong recently found herself locked in mortal combat with a giant python as the reptile attacked one of her dogs.

Catherine Leonard said when she saw a 15-foot-long Burmese python wrapped around the dog, all she could think of was a similar attack that occurred the year prior to a large dog in the area, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday.

But despite the size of the snake, Leonard said she attacked it until her dog, Poppy, was able to escape.

"I'm not sure exactly what I did but I kicked it and I tried to pull Poppy free," Leonard said of the incident in Sai Kung park.

"Somehow Poppy managed to get away and the python slithered away."

After her heroics, Leonard told the Morning Post her natural instinct had temporarily surpassed her better judgment.

"If I'd had the chance to think about it, I wouldn't have done what I did," she said, "but I hear the dog in distress and I just waded in there."