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NEW CASTLE, Colo. (KDVR) — A woman staying at a home in the Western Slope town of New Castle credits her dog for possibly saving her life when she was attacked by a bear early Wednesday morning.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed it was a black bear that charged her around 2 a.m. when she went out back to check on the hot tub cover.

“Holy Moly, like, who would know?” Akasha Jensen asked.

Jensen said her dog ran out behind her and started barking at a tree. Next thing you know, she said, the bear was all over her.

“I was yelling, so, it came at me!” she said.

She said the encounter lasted about five minutes but the bear injured her arm, shoulder and back. She was taken to a hospital in nearby Glenwood Springs.

“I’m alive because of her (her dog),” Jensen added. “I don’t think I’d be alive.”

CPW confirmed a sow and a cub had to be euthanized. Two other cubs, located near the town’s middle school, were tranquilized and taken to a rehabilitation center.