Plucky. I'd defend my dog, too, though.

Montana woman fights bear with courgette

A woman from the US state of Montana has fought off a 200lb (91kg) black bear with a courgette from her garden.

The bear attacked one of the woman's dogs on the back porch of her home late on Wednesday evening, Missoula County Sheriff's Lt Rich Maricelli said.

When the woman tried to stop the attack, the bear bit into her leg.

The woman, whom police have not named, grabbed the closest object - a courgette from her garden - and threw it at the bear, causing it to flee.

A courgette, for those of us in the US, is a zucchini squash. As gardeners know, zucchini tend to quickly outstrip those veggies you see at Kroger when you grow them at home. Hers was 14 inches long, and no doubt was quite a surprise to the bear. I'd leave too if a woman were madly throwing squash at me, wouldn't you? Glad she was just hurt a bit and the dog made it through without harm.