Video Captures Moment Bear Charges at Homeowner and Dogs on Back Deck

A man and his two dogs narrowly escaped a close encounter with a charging bear on the back deck of his home in Annandale, New Jersey. A video shows Joseph Damiani, dressed for bed, on his back deck as his two dogs sprint past him, quickly pursued by a running black bear.

Damiani told CBS News that the close call occurred on May 15.

"I heard a bunch of 'woof, woof, woof,'" he told the news outlet. "The dogs shot right past me, and then I saw the bear. And then the dogs went in. The bear tried to charge into the house."

His girlfriend, Shirley Perlinsky, was on the other side of the door when the dogs rushed inside. She said she tried to close the door to keep the bear outside but a dog leash had gotten stuck in the door.

"So, I was fighting the bear. The bear was pushing the door this way, I was pushing the door that way," Perlinsky told the station. "That's my boyfriend, and, you know, I love him very much, but I couldn't let the bear inside my house."

While the bear attempted to force its way inside the home, Damiani ran off the other side of the back deck and made his way around to the front door. A state wildlife official informed the two residents that the bear was likely attracted to the contents of their bird feeder.

Attempts were made to capture the bear due to its aggressive behavior, but it managed to evade officials. "We had a trap set up for eight days... Unfortunately, they couldn't catch this beast," Perlinsky said. The couple no longer keeps anything in their bird feeders.