A Juneau, Alaska, woman managed to save her dog from a black bear by giving it a big, swift punch in the snout.

"I just hit it as hard as I could," Brook Collins tells 97.3 KIRO FM's John Curley Show.

Collins says the attack happened so fast that all she could think about was keeping her dachshund, Fudge, from being killed.

"It was biting the back of her neck," says Collins. "It was big. It was crouching down. It had my dog pinned down."

Listen to interview: Brook Collins | Woman who punched a bear to save her dog

Collins said she first tried to scare the bear off by screaming.

"I got close to it, very close to it, and it didn't even seem to notice me. I was inches from it and I just thought, 'It will let go if I hit it,'" says Collins. "I just hit it where I thought it would hurt the most, and that was right there in the snout."

Collins' boyfriend Reagan witnessed the strike and says his girlfriend has "quite a punch."

"It started shaking its head like it just got clocked in the face, like a human would. It just kind of stood there for a sec," said Reagan.

As the bear stood stunned, Collins acted quickly, grabbing her dog.

"I just scooped up my dog as fast as I could," says Collins.

Reagan finished off the encounter, chasing the bear off the property. It retreated into the woods of Mount Juneau.

Fudge, the dog, suffered some claw and bite marks, but they weren't deep. Collins says he appeared to be more shocked than injured.

Jamie Griswold, MyNorthwest.com Editor

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