A Cobb County woman is afraid to let her dogs outside after one was attacked by an owl, she told Channel 2 Action News.

Deborah Johnson said she had let her two dachshunds out Saturday about 10 p.m. when the bird swooped in at Gabe, the larger of the two dogs.

“For a few seconds there, I did not know what was going on,” said Johnson, who lives off Post Oak Tritt Road.

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The 71-year-old woman said she tried to get the owl off Gabe.

“As soon as I touched the owl, he got on me,” she told WSB-TV.

Johnson said she was knocked down and tussled with the owl, which she said had grabbed the heel of her shoe. She thinks it went on for 20 seconds before it flew off.

“I was kicking as hard as I could,” Johnson said.

The arm she fell on is sore, but both her dogs are fine, she said. Johnson just wants folks to be mindful of owls.

“Don’t underestimate what those animals can do with those dogs,” she said.

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