Woman blasts charging moose with bear spray

A woman reached for a can of bear spray when a huge moose charged at her dogs outside her home.

Shelly Thorburn was in her backyard in Big Sky, Montana when the animal appeared and suddenly went after her pets, leaving her scrambling to protect her furry friends.

Doorbell camera footage captured the dramatic encounter, showing Thorburn using the spray to stop the moose in its tracks.

She told CNN: “I was fearful, for sure, because, you know, she was so big, and I've never had a big animal like that run after me.”

Thorburn said her biggest concern was 14-year-old Annie, one of her dogs, who is deaf and losing her sight.

She added: “She cannot hear, she's deaf, and she's visually impaired, so she did not anything that was going on.”

The moose fled after being sprayed, allowing Thorburn to get all of her dogs safely back inside.

Remarkably, none of the animals or Thorburn were injured during the frightening encounter.

The homeowner admitted she barely had time to think as she reacted to the charging animal.

She said: “I didn't realise I was doing all that, but I just wanted to get them all in the house, everybody.”

Moose may look slow and lumbering, but they can become aggressive when threatened, particularly when dogs are involved.

For Thorburn, however, the priority was simple: getting her pets out of danger.

After the spray sent the moose running, she managed to round up her dogs and get them indoors, bringing the bizarre backyard encounter to a safe end.