Today I spotted a moose in the front yard, so of course I had to step out and take some photos. She noticed me, but was not bothered at all. She quickly accepted that I was nearby, she didn't even stand up and in fact she was so content that she went to sleep. I knew that she wouldn't stay put for very long because she was close to the road and loud trucks (and just simple quiet cars) come through regularly enough that she would likely get spooked. Or, a neighbor would walk by with a dog. I figured that I would stay out there and either get a photo of her running away from a truck, or I would be able to help a neighbor understand that they were walking towards her.

Well, after 34 minutes, two neighbors with two off-leash dogs came down the road. I could see them well before they could see the moose, and I loudly called out -- "There's a moose over here!". Nothing- no response. They walked closer. "Hey - there's a moose over here. You need to leash your dogs!. THERE'S A MOOSE! MOOSE!!!" Nothing. I called out 5 times. They did nothing. The two dogs began racing up the hill through my yard towards me and ignored the owners as they tried to call the dogs back. I yelled at the dogs to stop, yelled NO, but it was all in vain. As soon as the dogs got to me, they then saw the moose and attacked her. It was then a full-on situation with the moose trying to stomp the dogs to death. I kept quiet so that I wouldn't interrupt the owners calling repeatedly for their dogs to come back. The owners had absolutely no control over their animals. After allowing the owners ample time to get their dogs under control, I was compelled to intervene. I stepped into the fray and sort of put myself between the more aggressive dog and the moose while yelling at the top of my lungs at the dog. NO!! STOP!! GO BACK!!! GO BACK!!! I screamed repeatedly. The dog must have realized I meant business and it finally ran back. The neighbors said nothing -- no apology, nothing. Oblivious and ignorant. I'm sure they still feel that they did nothing wrong and that their well behaved dogs are easy to control with voice alone. Wrong. When it mattered most, they had zero control over their animals. Infuriating.

The moose seemed to understand that I was on her side. With about 30 feet between us, the moose and I walked back toward my house. She jumped the fence and I walked inside. Her body language was never aggressive towards me, and it sort of reminded me of my late June 2023 encounter when I steered a dog and owner away from a moose. That owner listened, and then the moose came over to me with her baby afterwards. I LOVE dogs, but people need to leash them and be more aware. When a person is repeatedly stressing to "leash your dog ... there's a moose!", then dog owners need to listen fast and respect the warning.