73-year-old ex-Marine punches bear in the face to save his dog

POW! Right in the kisser! A 73-year-old man says he socked a bear in the face to protect his pooch

TORONTO – You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off the Lone Ranger… and you don’t threaten Carl Moore’s Chihuahua.

Even if you’re a bear.

According to the 73-year-old, it all started when he heard his pet Chihuahua Lacy whimpering from outside his Placer County, California home on April 20.

When he stepped outside, he saw a bear trying to bypass a gate on his front porch. Moore told local media that he had lost dozens of his pet chickens in recent weeks and suspected this bear was responsible.

Believing his pet dog to be in danger, the former U.S. Marine says he jumped into action.

“I ain’t run from nothing; I never have in my whole life and I ain’t going to start now,” Moore told CBS Sacramento. “And you’re not going to sacrifice my babies for some damn bear.”

So rather than call 911 or animal control, Moore decided to try to scare the bear off.

“And I raised both hands in the air and I cussed at him, ‘Rrraaaaaaa! Get out of here you bastard, and he looked at me like ‘Go eff yourself,” Moore said.

What happened next was like something out of a Kung Fu movie, a Chuck Norris joke, or a legend involving Paul Bunyan: Moore decided to punch the bear in the face.

Yes, it sounds too incredible to be true, even for a grizzled Jarhead who’s bounced at bars across Texas.

But Moore says there were witnesses to his man-to-bear KO punch.

“Carl just smacks it, I couldn’t believe it,” said John Sargent, a friend and co-worker of Moore’s who lives with him in the Placer County home.

Both men say the bear ran off after Moore served him up a knuckle sandwich, and Lacy the Chihuahua was back in the arms of her loving owner.

Fox News 40 in Sacramento, California reports that Fish and Wildlife rangers believe the bear that ran off after being hit weighed approximately 300 pounds.

But Moore’s friends say it’s no surprise that the bruin wanted no part of his right hook.

“He’s an ex-first recon Marine,” Sargent said. “He’s been in barroom brawls, all kinds of stuff.”

For his part, Moore says he’s ready should the bear come back to his property looking for a rematch.

“The man or beast that I run from ain’t been born, and his momma’s already dead,” he said.