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Alaska woman, 85, uses shovel to fend off moose

George Murphy talks about Friday's moose attack from his hospital bed at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, as his wife Dorthea Taylor looks on Monday, Jan. 22, 2012. An agitated moose on Friday ran down and stomped Murphy, a well-known Bush pilot from Willow, but he was saved when Dorthea, who is 5 feet tall and weighs 97 pounds, grabbed a shovel from their pickup truck and whacked the big animal until it backed off. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth)

Dorothea Taylor describes her effort to stop a moose that was stomping her husband, George Murphy, right, Monday, Jan. 22, 2012, from Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. An agitated moose on Friday ran down and stomped Murphy, a well-known Bush pilot from Willow, but he was saved when his wife, who is 5 feet tall and weighs 97 pounds, grabbed a shovel from their pickup truck and whacked the big animal until it backed off. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth)

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The Associated Press Updated 5:21 PM Monday, January 23, 2012

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An 85-year-old Alaska woman used a grain shovel to fend off an agitated moose that was stomping her husband.

George Murphy says his wife saved his life.

The Anchorage Daily News (http://bit.ly/yahDtF) says the 82-year-old pilot, who flew for three decades for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, was hiking with his golden retrievers near the Willow airport Friday. He saw the moose and dove in the snow, but the moose started stomping him.

His wife, Dorothea, who is 5 feet tall and weighs 97 pounds, grabbed a big shovel and hit the moose in the body and head.

She ran for help, and Murphy was rushed by medical helicopter to an Anchorage hospital. He was in good condition Monday with a gash to his head.

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January 23, 2012 10:17 PM EST

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