A moose stands over Iditarod rookie musher Bridgett Watkins’ dog team on Feb. 4, 2022, along a trail near Fairbanks, Alaska. (Credit: Bridgett Watkins) FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A routine training run for a rookie Iditarod musher in Alaska turned into the "most horrific" day of her life after a giant bull moose attacked them and spent nearly an hour stomping on the dogs.
Bridgett Watkins said she emptied her gun into the animal, but it withstood multiple rounds. "As he charged me I emptied my gun into him and he never stopped, I ran for my life and prayed I was fast enough to not be killed in that moment," Watkins said on Feb.
4 of the ordeal. "He trampled the team and then turned for us."The attack happened while the team was on a 52-mile run on the Salcha River trail system near Fairbanks.
They had been training for the nearly 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which starts on March 5 in Anchorage.Watkins, who operates Kennel on a Hill with her husband, said she and a friend sought refuge next to the snowmobile.