One Tiny Dog, One Mama Moose, And Zero Time To Think
Woopsies! A normal trip into the yard turned into a full wildlife emergency for Shelly Thorburn in Big Sky, Montana, when a mother moose and her calf were suddenly much too close for comfort.
Thorburn had let her three dogs outside without realizing the moose were nearby. Within seconds, the adult moose was moving toward them, and Thorburn was trying to get everybody back inside before the encounter got any worse.
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The scariest part centered on Annie, Thorburn’s 14-year-old dog, who is deaf and visually impaired. Thorburn told CNN that Annie did not understand what was happening as the moose came around the side of the house fast with its ears pinned back.
And this is where the whole thing goes from “uh-oh” to ma’am, absolutely not. Thorburn yelled, tried to get Annie out of the way and, at one point, even slapped the moose before reaching for bear spray.
The spray finally stopped the advance and sent the moose away. Thorburn was able to get all three dogs back inside safely, and no injuries were reported.
That is a lot of chaos packed into only a few seconds — protective mama moose, confused dogs and one homeowner running on pure instinct. The home-camera footage caught thee entire scramble.
Watch the Montana Woman Fend Off a Moose to Protect Her Dogs
The 27-second clip captures the Big Sky backyard encounter as Thorburn works to get her dogs away from the mother moose.
Source: CNN reporting and UPI. Home-camera footage: Ring.
