BY TSC STAFF

Chico, a 4-pound chihuahua from Crystal Lake, Illinois, recently survived being attacked by an owl during a nighttime walk with his owner, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Greg Kalomiris was taking Chico for a walk in the park one night last week when the dog stopped behind him and started whimpering. Kalomiris couldn’t get Chico to move, and suddenly a great horned owl silently swooped down and tried to pick up the dog and carry him away.

“The owl just appeared right next to him out of the darkness,” Kalomiris told the source. “[It] came out of nowhere.”

Lucky for Chico, the owl was unable to get a good grip on the dog because of the winter jacket he was wearing to protect him from the cold. Kalomiris held onto Chico’s leash and lunged at the owl until it let go, at which point he grabbed his pet and fled.

“I just ran into the house with Chico in my arms,” said Kalomiris.

Chico suffered minor injuries from his encounter with the owl, including a puncture wound on his side and a scratch on his head from being dragged along the sidewalk.

Kalomiris reported that Chico has fully recovered from his physical injuries, but he now refuses to go outside after dark.

According to the Wilderness Medical Society, almost 2,000 people died in the United States due to encounters with wild animals between 1991 and 2001, with approximately 177 fatalities occurring each year.

People facing a wild animal should try to back away slowly, and if the animal looks like it might attack, they should try to make themselves appear larger by extending their arms and spreading their fingers.