If you'd like to help Lauren with her vet bills, you can make a donation at any Chase Bank into the following savings account: 2956376572
SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - It was one of those "What would you do?" moments. A Tierrasanta pet owner watched a coyote snatch her cat. So in the darkness she chased the coyote down.
Lauren Fanucchi looked up and saw her cat in the mouth of a coyote. Without hesitating, she jumped a wall and gave chase. The 21-year-old then scaled a fence with a 10-foot drop with reckless abandon and emotions that are still raw.
"If Bandit was your cat, you would have done the same thing," she said.
Keep in mind, as Lauren reenacted her pursuit for News 8, the sun was up. But early Thursday morning it was pitch black outside.
As she followed the coyote into the backcountry where she was afraid she would have to take on a whole pack of predators, Lauren says she was guided by God.
"I was just like, 'Please Lord let me go where he went,'" she said.
Her prayer was answered. Somehow, she caught up to the sprinting coyote and scared the animal into dropping Bandit near a gully.
"I couldn't believe he was alive," she said.
Lauren rushed Bandit to the Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Sorrento Valley. Veterinarian Dr. Josh Jackson says the cat has head trauma and a broken jaw.
"Bandit is a very sweet kitty," he said.
X-rays show multiple breaks that need to be repaired by surgery.
"The bill is a lot," Lauren said.
Lauren is a college student who will owe thousands of dollars. Yet she's sure this story will have a happy ending.
"I have faith," she said. "It's just money."
Some of the footage used in this video report was shot using a GoPro camera.