All hell broke moose in Big Sky Country last week.
A quick-thinking dog mom saved her three adored pets from a terrifying moose attack in her Montana backyard with the help of a can of bear spray.
Moments after letting her dogs outside, Shelly Thorburn came face-to-face with a huge moose and its baby calf on her back porch in a dramatic showdown that was captured on her Ring camera on Aug. 27.
“I looked around the side of the house and it was mama moose coming, running as fast as she could with her ears pinned back,” Thorburn recalled to CNN.
The protective beast roared onto Thorburn’s backyard and was “making these kind of grunting noises” which scared off two of her pups.
But Thorburn’s beloved 14-year-old dog Annie was left behind in the chaos and was completely unaware of the looming danger.
“She cannot hear, she’s deaf and she’s visually impaired,” Thorburn said of her senior dog.
Thorburn was particularly worried about Annie as she slipped further away from the panicked owner during the madness.
“So she did not know anything that was going on.”
During the frantic encounter, Thorburn is seen yelling at the two wild animals while sprinting around her outdoor area in pure panic to save her beloved pets — and herself.
“I was fearful for sure, you know, because she was so big and I’ve never had a big animal like that run after me,” Thorburn said.
Thorburn ran inside and grabbed a can of bear spray to try and fend off the mama and her calf.
“I didn’t realize I was doing all that but I just wanted them all in the house — everybody,” she told the outlet.
Luckily, the bear spray did the trick and all three of Thorburn’s dogs were unharmed.
The suburban backyard ambush took place less than an hour away from Yellowstone National Park.
Due to Blue Sky’s location within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, moose are known to roam around the southern Montana community and are not naturally afraid of humans.
“Humans and moose share the same neighborhoods,” according to Visit Big Sky.
“Moose safety needs to be a top priority in the event that you encounter a moose while you’re out and about.”
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