California 'miracle' colt recovers from cougar attack during his birth

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A baby horse has been dubbed "Charlie the Miracle Colt" after surviving an attack from a mountain lion during his own birth in California.

Diane Truxillo said her horse, Phlicka, was in the process of giving birth just before the New Year at her ranch in Anza when she and her husband heard their dogs barking loudly.

"We got alerted that something was going on when our dogs went ballistic," Truxillo told KABC-TV.

The couple found a mountain lion was attacking Phlicka and her foal, Charlie, who still in the process of being born.

The owners chased the cougar away and immediately noticed Charlie was severely injured.

"You could see his carotid artery. You could see that the membrane covering the carotid artery was the only thing that wasn't broken," veterinarian Allyson Gagnon said.

Charlie suffered wounds to his neck and upper legs. Phlicka was treated for wounds to her eye.

"He wanted to live. He really wanted to live," Gagnon said of Charlie.

Truxillo said the baby horse is now known as "Charlie the Miracle Colt."

"He's been a miracle, he's just flat out been a miracle that he survived all this," Truxillo said.

She said in a Facebook post that Charlie is "doing fabulously on his road to recovery" and they are raising money to pay his medical expenses by auctioning off items donated by friends and supporters.