A woman says she has her 8-year-old Husky Labrador Retriever mix named Kai to thank for her life, after he successfully defended her from a mother bear, who was outside the door of her home with her two cubs on Saturday evening. 

Tracey Colburn had just finished her pot roast dinner and when she opened her door to let Kai out around 10 pm at her rural home in Grafton, Hew Hampshire. That's when she came face-to-face with a massive black bear on her porch. 

Kai leapt past her and jumped at the bear in her defense and the two tangled and fought. Colburn couldn't stand to watching Kai getting mauled, so she ran onto the porch to defend her dog. When the bear swiped at Colburn, Kai attacked again and distracted the bear for long enough for her to run back into the house. 

After twenty minutes, she let off some firecrackers and dashed out to her car, and drove to the hospital where she received dozens of stitches for her injuries from the bear attack. 

Kai is limping from a leg injury, but is otherwise all right.  

• bear
• attack
• heroic dog