(WESH) A Florida man says he did what he had to do to protect himself, his dog, and his Fruitland Park neighborhood when faced with an overly aggressive coyote.

The coyote was killed and his dog is getting frequent check-ups to make sure rabies is not an issue.

Ben Pool says he hears coyotes often, rarely sees them.

Things were different, however, on Friday.

“My dog and a coyote were standing face to face, fixing to go at it,” Pool says.

Pool was able to get the two animals apart…then the coyote attacked him.

“He came at my legs, first, I smashed him in the side of the head with the cup. He came at me again, I smashed him again and then he jumped up at my face, when he did that I jumped back, smacked him in the side of the head, he screamed and he went down,” Pool says.

Pool managed to get himself and his dog up the street and home, but says the coyote was relentless.

Read more: http://bit.ly/2BLg9D9