James Hetfield and the Woman Who Intimidated a Cougar with Metallica’s Music are BFFs Now

Remember the lady who used Metallica’s “Don’t Tread On Me” to fend off a cougar? Apparently the band got wind of the news and she was able to give them a personal “thank you.”

After receiving word from Metallica’s liaison that the band would be contacting her, Dee Gallant was in shock. Who wouldn’t be?! The next call she got was from the man himself: Papa Het.

“I was a little bit lost for words,” she told Vancouver’s CTV News. “It’s surreal how quickly it happened and how far it’s gone. The fact that he’s so down to earth and such a great person, I’m very pleased to find that out first-hand.” The two had a conversation about the cougar, their houses, and their pets. “I can’t believe he knows my dog’s name!”

Most of us probably would’ve had our doubts that we were really having a conversation with James Hetfield, so to prove that it was the real deal, he sent Gallant a selfie of himself — throwing horns, of course. “If you had told the 18-year-old me that this would happen, I never would’ve believed it. I would’ve just fallen out of my skin with excitement.”

And the rest is history. I don’t think the Metallica gang has time to call everyone who decides to use their music for wilderness survival, so don’t forget to carry bear spray if you’re in scary wildlife territory — it works on mountain lions, too! Finally, pick up your tickets to Metallica’s S&M² film ASAP.

[via Loudwire]