Andrew Meunier is grateful to be alive after he was attacked by a bear.
The 41-year-old told the media he was letting his dog out from his Naples, Fla., home on Tuesday night when he turned just in time to see a bear standing next to him.
He told the Collier County Sheriff’s Department the dog ran back inside scared, meanwhile, he struggled to get away.
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“It was standing in front of me and I tried to turn left real quick and get back in the house and I caught an uppercut from a black bear,” he told NBC News.
According to the incident report, Meunier suffered a minor facial laceration from the bear attack.
He was transported to a local hospital where he underwent a four-hour surgery resulting in 41 stitches.
“I’m just happy to be alive,” Meunier said.
“It could’ve been a totally different story.”