Pennsylvania woman was attacked by a bear

(NBC) - A Pennsylvania woman is sharing her story after she and her dog were attacked by a bear.

She said she stepped in when she noticed the bear and its three cubs interacting with her dog and that's when the bear came at her.

"She had me down and she bit my arm, and she was on top of me. I thought I thought I was gonna die," shared Lee Ann Galante.

Lee Ann Galante came face to face with a bear and lived to talk about it.

She's got the scars to prove it.

"She was pulling so hard on it, I thought I was gonna get scalped. And turned out, she pulled so hard I did pull the skin from the back of my ear and I have stitches back there," shared Galante.

The 55-year-old dental hygienist was at her home in Butler Tuesday evening and let her seven-year-old Pomeranian named Smoky outside around 8:30 p.m.

They'd seen black bears in the neighborhood recently, but Galante had no idea a mom and her three cubs were in her backyard.

She heard the commotion outside and realized Smoky was in danger.

She tried to get him inside in what became a fight of their lives.

"I'm screaming, im screaming someone please help me. Im screaming at the top of my lungs. It was terrifying. I really thought that was gonna be it," said Galante.

She doesn't even remember how she made it back inside to call 911.

"I don't even know how I moved that fast. I thought im not gonna make it. She's gonna get me. And she's very, very powerful and very, very angry," Galante shared.

Smoky has a few scratches and went to the vet today to get checked out.

Galante's doctor said she was lucky.

"She has a fair amount of puncture wounds on the back of her neck, on her arm itself and pretty significant tears or lacerations across her scalp. She also has several broken bones on her nose or face," stated Dr. Jennifer Chen, Allegheny General Hospital Trauma Surgeon.

She's expected to make a full recovery.

She has a trip to Italy planned in a month and isn't letting a little bear attack get in the way.

"I gotta make it happen, even if I look this," said Galante.