Dee Gallant was hiking with her dog, Murphy, in the wilderness of Vancouver Island, Canada when she saw a nearby cougar watching her. She yelled to try to scare it, but when it didn’t leave, she got creative and played loud music on her phone to frighten the big cat.
Her musical choice? “Don’t Tread On Me” by Metallica because it’s loud and she says that was the message she wanted the cougar to get. Her plan worked and the animal took off. Gallant joked that she would love to tell the band’s lead singer, James Hetfield, that he saved her life and then she got a call from him.
She was skeptical that it was actually him, but after they talked, Hetfield sent her a selfie as proof. “I couldn’t even believe he was calling me,” Gallant says. “He was just an absolutely wonderful guy, very down to Earth. I still can’t believe James Hetfield knows my dog’s name.”