When the moose attacked, it was his “cowardly” dog who saved the man from more serious injuries.
Less than 20 minutes ago
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Sven Grill was out for a walk with his dog when they encountered an angry moose who suddenly attacked him.
The 70-year-old Swede lives in Røa in Oslo after emigrating from Sweden 22 years ago. He also has a daughter here in Norway. But his cabin is in Onsala, about four miles south of Gothenburg.
Here’s where it happened.
– The only thing I remember is that I thought “now it’s happening”, he tells the Swedish newspaper The evening paperwho was the first to come forward with the case.
It starts with him sitting in front of the TV in his booth and watching broadcasts of the Swedish 9/11 election. Late in the evening, his dog Joplin, an almost nine-year-old Great Dane bitch, wanted to go out for a walk.
– Suddenly he accepts a bet
Grill was just about to take a short walk around the neighborhood when he saw a moose cow standing with her calf eating apples in a garden.
There are a lot of moose in the area and previously it hasn’t reacted to people. She went on and was about to pass the garden where it stood and then it happened.
– He probably wanted to defend his calf, but I don’t know if it was me or Joplin who set the moose on fire. At first he stops and looks at us, but suddenly makes a bet and jumps over the fence, Grill tells VG.
In the seconds the moose attacks, it’s completely empty, he says.
He didn’t see him in person, but he kicked the moose with great force in the stomach.
– I have a big bruise on my stomach, probably due to the kick and the fact that I was thrown to the ground.
“A little coward”
He lost the leash for the dog who ran away. She noticed that she had also suffered abrasions on her legs and arms.
Grill describes his dog as “a bit of a coward,” which should come in handy in this situation.
– It was incredibly fortunate that the dog got stung just then, otherwise it could have been worse. A couple of years ago there was a case where an old lady was repeatedly trampled by an angry moose.
And, when the dog went up a hill, the moose cow followed him.
But, as the moose cow chased after the dog, he turned to the side and put his “leg” in Grill’s thigh.
Then he feels that the elk’s pointed hoof has penetrated his thigh.
– I was wearing shorts and felt my thigh was getting wet, but it was dark outside so I couldn’t see.
– Was it painful?
– No, I was so full of adrenaline and didn’t feel any pain at the time.
– Deep and big
Eventually Joplin returned, having “chased off” the moose cow. Then he feels the blood run down his thigh.
He managed to get home and then discovered the wound.
– It was deep and big and I realized that I couldn’t do anything by myself.
He got into the car and went to the Kungsbacka emergency room where he was stitched up.
The doctor who treated Grill said he was very lucky not to have been hit higher in the thigh, as it would have been life-threatening, according to the doctor.
“Over and out” was the expression used by the doctor.
– More anxious
She says the wound still hurts and her thigh is swollen, but she’ll have stitches on Tuesday.
The encounter with the moose cow left a mark, not only on the thigh.
– I have become much more anxious to go out in the evening. I notice that Joplin is even more reserved, she says.
Next week the moose hunt begins in Onsala.
– I hope they get this moose because it’s not good, he says.
Tomorrow is the first lobster catch over there and of course Grill will be there.
– And then I’ll probably get bitten by a lobster too, he says with a laugh.
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