Video: Dogs and Owner Manage to Escape Charging Bear in New Jersey Backyard

July 6 (UPI) — A captivating incident unfolded in New Jersey as a couple’s security camera captured their courageous dogs narrowly escaping a charging black bear by swiftly darting through the door.

Joseph Damiani of Annandale, a New Jersey resident, recounted the heart-stopping moment when he heard his dogs barking outside and rushed to the back porch to investigate.

“I hear a symphony of ‘woof, woof, woof,'” he revealed in an interview with WCBS-TV. “The dogs raced past me, and that’s when I spotted the bear.”

The quick-thinking dogs managed to make it safely inside, leaving Damiani to face the bear alone as it attempted to forcefully enter their house.

Shirley Perlinsky, Damiani’s girlfriend, valiantly attempted to lock the door to keep the bear out, but the bear’s relentless shoving made it a fierce struggle for her to hold the door closed.

“I desperately tried to lock the door, but couldn’t due to the leash getting caught. So there I was, locked in a battle with the bear. It was pushing the door in one direction, and I was pushing back in the opposite direction,” Perlinsky recounted.

Perlinsky, who shared the remarkable security camera footage of the incident on Facebook, expressed her concern for Damiani, who was still outside facing the bear.

“That’s my boyfriend, and I deeply care for him, but I simply couldn’t allow the bear inside my home,” she declared with determination.

Damiani ultimately managed to circle around the house and enter through the front door, reuniting with Perlinsky.

The couple later learned from wildlife officials that the bear was likely attracted to their yard by birdfeeders. In response, they promptly removed the contents of the feeders.