ST. DAVID, Maine (AP) A cow moose attacked a Maine teen, his dad and their sled dogs during a snowstorm Tuesday night — a 45-minute ordeal that only ended when the 17-year-old shot the moose with a neighbor’s rifle.

Caleb Hayes and his eight-dog team were returning to the family’s kennel business in St. David after a training run. His father, Jonathan Nathaniel Hayes, rode ahead on a snowmobile.

“When we pulled onto our property, the moose was stomping puppies and bashing dog houses,” the father told the The Bangor Daily News. All the dogs escaped unhurt, he said.

He said the moose also appeared frightened, adding, “We both felt sorry for her the entire time.”

Then the dog sled team began pulling Caleb Hayes toward the moose. He refused to let go of the ganglines – the harness system that connects the dogs. His father said he’s proud his son “put the safety of his team first, even when it meant his own life was in danger.”

The teen’s boot became tangled in the lines, and the stomping and kicking moose “came right up to the team, passing over (Caleb),” his father said.