Anchorage Daily News

It was dark, but the glow of Julie Closuit's flashlight was bright enough and the moose was close enough that she could see it lay its ears back before it charged.

"I mainly remember it looking at me and putting its ears back and coming at us," Closuit said. "It didn't think twice. It came right for us."

That's when Berry, Closuit's 3-year-old Rottweiler, sprang into action.

"As soon as I saw the moose, she jerked the leash out of my hand," said Closuit, who is six months pregnant.

Closuit, 26, had taken Berry for a walk outside their Goldstream Valley home around 7 a.m. Jan. 21. As she does every morning, Closuit walked around the corner of the house with a flashlight to check for moose or the neighbor's loose dog before bringing Berry out. Seeing nothing, she returned with Berry on a leash.

"We got to right about here and Berry started alert barking," said Closuit on Sunday, re-enacting the week-old incident.

When Closuit shined her flashlight in the direction Berry was barking, she saw the silhouette of a moose's head and two glowing eyes. The moose was hidden behind a spruce tree about 20 feet away.

Just as Closuit was thinking, 'Oh crap, what do I do?,' Berry pulled the leash out of her hand to confront the moose. The friendly 76-pound Rottweiler rushed the moose and circled behind it in a C-shaped herding pattern.

With the moose bearing down on her, Closuit, a lifelong Fairbanksan, did what her parents always told her to do as a child in the event of a moose attack -- she dove behind a pair of birch trees.

"It was already coming toward me," Closuit said. "It ran right over where I had been standing."

Berry returned to Closuit's side as she scrambled to her feet. She looked up to see the moose preparing to charge her a second time.

"It put its ears back again and took a step forward and Berry got between me and the moose and was barking," Closuit said.

The moose retreated in the direction of Closuit's walking trail, but Berry saw the direction the moose was going and made a swooping turn to head it off. The moose saw the dog and headed back into the woods.

"She cut it off at the trail and drove it into the woods and barked at it like she was saying, 'Don't you come back here,' " Closuit said.

While they are now mainly used as protection dogs, Rottweilers were once bred to be herding dogs, Closuit said. After seeing her in action, Closuit can see why.

"I have never seen her instincts kick into gear like that," said Closuit, who has had Berry since she was 6 months old. "She was in her element."

After calling Berry back to her, Closuit ran back into the house and counted her blessings.

This is the time of year that moose can start getting grumpy in Fairbanks, said Cathie Harms with the Department of Fish and Game. It's the coldest part of the winter, their energy reserves are low and there isn't much for them to eat.

"They're more likely to have an altercation with people later in the winter," Harms said.

A week later, Closuit still gets excited talking about the encounter. The whole episode couldn't have lasted more than 30 seconds, she said.

"It was the most exciting minute in my life," said Closuit, who plans to put a fence up around her yard to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Berry was rewarded with treat and toy shopping trips.

"I don't know if she saved my life, but I didn't need to go to the hospital," she said. "Even if we did have a whole lot of luck on our side, she made the difference in my opinion."

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