One of my favourite things is when Rick comes home from work, sits in his recliner, and reads to me. He is addicted to a news service on his phone called Flipboard, and he reads me anything he finds interesting that he thinks I'll find interesting, too. Sometimes, he does some editorializing, which is a nice bonus. Often, I do the editorializing, which is sometimes not nearly as nice because I use a lot of profanity if it's political news.
What can I say? I get stirred up.
Anyway, the other day, Rick was reading me a story from Flipboard about a heroic man in California who saved his dog from a bear attack.
Here's how that went:
Rick: So, some guy in California punched a 350-pound bear in the face to save his dog Buddy's life.
Nance: (looks up from her game of Wordscapes on her phone) Wow. I have not done anything with my life.
Rick: (looks directly at her; pauses meaningfully) No.
Nance: Wait. The dog's name was Buddy? This guy will punch a 350-pound bear right in its face, but he can't be bothered to think of a better name for his dog than Buddy?
Rick: (ignores her) Now it says the bear keeps coming back and won't leave them alone. That it sees the dog as food and knows it's still there.
Nance: Who says that? And where the hell does this guy live, in a national park or something?
Rick: Nance, I don't know. I'm just reading the story that's here. It doesn't say all that.
Nance: Maybe it's time to change that dog's name. That dog is probably embarrassed. Poor thing.
This whole story reminded me of another Bear Story that made me feel bad about myself for not ever stepping up and fighting a bear for...anything, really.
Back in 2006 in Quebec, a woman named Lydia Angyiou got between her seven-year old son and a 700-pound polar bear who wandered into a kids' street hockey game. The polar bear swatted Ms. Angyiou down, but she kept fighting until someone with a gun fired off a shot to distract the bear. He backed off, and the shooter had to fire four times to fell the bear. I wrote about it here in 2006, lamenting my parenting failure compared to Ms. Angyiou's obviously superior efforts. Let's face it; unless you save your kid from a rampaging bear, you're in the minor leagues at best.
But I digress.
The question is--would I go up against a crazed and hungry bear to save my cats, Piper and Marlowe? As the Magic 8 Ball would say, OUTLOOK NOT SO GOOD. Oh, sure, I'd scream and bang on some pots or something to distract the bear (and, hey! what is a bear doing in my neighborhood?), but I have to tell you that, really, they're goners.
Be real about your pets and a bear attack in Comments.
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well, I would run Im sure. Remember my kayak story where I LEFT Zach in lake michigan to keep both kayaks and his head afloat after i Capsized. I'll never forgive me for that. anyhow, the folks who bought the family cabin, we met them a couple years ago. Casually, the owner says, the feed the birds and so daily they have to bang on pots to make the bears leave. That's nuts. Quit feeding the birds!
ReplyDeletekathy b--I think running is the worst thing you can do in a bear attack. Or is that a dog attack? I have no idea.
DeleteYes, I'm with you. When you know the source of the problem, eliminate the source. Duh.
Oh my goodness. Lucky for Buddy, his Dad is a hero.
ReplyDeleteMy Dog would be gone if the bear didn't run off after I screamed hysterically in his direction. I would try, but not from a close distance to scare it off.
BB Suz--Right? Either that, or just plain dumb. I think we'd all try by screaming and throwing stuff at the bear, but when it comes right down to it, we're not tangling with a bigass bear and its lunch.
DeleteOh, Nance, this post made me laugh so hard! First, you know how I have always thoroughly enjoyed your conversations with Rick. Second, I enjoy them more than ever now because they remind me of the discussions that Smokey and I used to have. There was no Flipboard factor (although I feel slightly in the know--only slightly, mind you--as I did learn about this platform recently) but we discussed articles/stories that we'd come across every single evening. It was a mix of him telling me about ones that had caught his interest via his favorite websites and us discussing the articles he'd read that I'd sent along while he was at work. Those were simple but magical conversations. There are still so many times, I see a news item and think, "Smokey would love hearing about this."
ReplyDeleteBear survival stories are some of the most amazing in my opinion. Whether one is simply trying to survive or save one's pet. I actually have friends who have come up against bears and lucked out and have spoken firsthand to someone who encountered a grizzly and had to do the whole roll-in-a-ball-and-get-batted-around-until-the-bear-lost-interest thing. I simply can't imagine. Like you, my pets would be toast if I came up against a bear. Or an alligator snatched one of my dogs. Did you see the man in Florida who rescued his little dog from the jaws of a small alligator? That was quite something. Nope, I could not have done that!
I disappeared for a while and I'm sorry about that. I really want to finish reading and commenting on your month-long series. You did an incredible job, my friend! You are truly outstanding at such commitments.
Shirley--Dear Friend, do NOT feel obligated to go back and comment on every single post! Read them if you like, but don't feel that you need to say something. You do you. XXOO
DeleteIt pulls at my heart that the four of us will not be able to share time together. I know Rick and Smokey would have gotten along so well. I could just see the two of them out on the boat at our lakehouse, fishing and relaxing, while you and I sit on the deck and gab with a bottle of wine.
I did see the story about the dog rescued from the alligator in FLA. Like you, that's a Big No from me. RIP, little one. What a way to go. These people need to stop walking so near bodies of water in what is essentially a huge reptile territory.
(And don't be too impressed with my month of blogging. I'm retired, remember?)
You are always so gracious at letting me off the hook, dear. Thank you for that!
DeleteImagining that gathering with the four of us makes me smile, Nance. And yes, it pulls at my heart as well. So many things that might have been that cannot ever be now.
Officially, I'm retired as well as you know. It really hasn't helped me pull off many posts though. I was more prolific when it came to blog posts when I was actually working. I do much better when I'm juggling things than I do when I have all the time in the world to devote myself to one or two things.
I'm not sure any of us can know how we'd react in a high adrenaline situation like a bear attack. I'd like to think I'd be smart enough to make enough nose while walking in bear territory---like recommended---that I'd never see one and I'd be smart enough to leave my dog/bear bate at home.
ReplyDeleteJean--I'd like to think I'd be smart enough not to ever walk in bear territory!
DeleteWe live in bear country. They are black bears and smaller and less aggressive than those in your stories above. We don't see them often, but probably twice or three times a year there will be a bear close to the house. When my daughters were children we used to go berrying and so did the bears. We sent the dog ahead when we got close to the patch, the thought being that the dog would bark if there was already a bear berrying there. (Nice alliteration, eh?) Pail banging, singing and barking drive off black bears almost without fail. But I was leading the kids into possible danger. So, I guess that is parent fail, big time.
ReplyDeleteThe only fight any of our dogs ever lost was the beagle's run in with a grouse when he was a small puppy. Pecked and bleeding nose. The YD's dog has lost out twice to a porcupine and had to be hauled into the vet and sedated once to get the quills out of her mouth.
I think that Rick is a good guy. I would probably swat anyone who interrupted me while I was reading them something. Hmm. Unless it was a bear.
Mary--YOU ARE THE WORST PARENT EVER.
DeleteKidding.
How bad could you be if you sent the dog in first as bait?
Again, kidding.
Any failure in Parenting In Bear Country is made up for in Extra Credit from "the thought being that the dog would bark if there was already a bear berrying there."
Not only do you have bears where you live (what the heck? do you live in a national park? LOL), but you have some bellicose and crabby grouse. The mental picture I have of a poor little beagle being pecked by some tough old partridge is cartoonish, but sad. Why didn't that puppy just run away? Too much.
Rick is the Very Best of the Good Guys. I don't interrupt him. He pauses a lot because he "only reads me the good/important parts." He's a Skimmer.
We live in 'the bush' according to some of our neighbours. We are also within an hour's drive of the National Capital of Canada, aka Ottawa. Mind you, there are occasional bear and moose sightings in Ottawa too. As for poor little beagle, that puppy had no common sense at all and insatiable curiosity into the bargain. But he did avoid grouse in the spring after that mishap.
DeleteI note that Rick pauses for feedback. I am impressed even more.
Shouldn't wouldn't couldn't. Nope, no bears here. Cougars, bobcats, coyotes, oh my. If you were to ask me about those, tho, I'd say the same.
ReplyDeleteAnni--We have coyotes at the lake. They get pretty close.
DeleteBut I'm with you. Nope.
Oh Yikes! I'm sure I would just RUN. I did hear (maybe a decade ago??) about a bear found wandering around near us..."they" shot it with a tranq. gun and carted it off to somewhere in the Poconos.
ReplyDeleteVera--Running is the worst thing you can do, I think.
DeleteThere have been a few Urban Bear sightings in the greater Cleveland area, but the properties always backed up to woods. No one knows where the heck these bears came from. One woman found the bear in her garage, going through the spare refrigerator. She threw deli turkey at it--how stupid.
Dee--Same here. Piper and Marlowe stay indoors where it is safe, and where they can see the results of their handiwork, spreading hair all over everything. They are truly Cat Hair Artistes.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many stray and "outdoor" cats (fancy name for stray cats with a base), that by the time a bear got to my cats, he'd be so full, he'd just groan and lumber away.
Cujo is a better name. Elliott is a better name. ANYTHING is a better name than Buddy. (So unimaginative and derivative.)
I had to go look up the story to see if it was Tahoe, as there are a lot of bears there and I was curious. Nope, Grass Valley. The kicker for me is that the guy was INSIDE HIS HOUSE and saw the dog being attacked, and ran out and fought with the bear. That’s brave and idiotic. I’m sorry to say that Mulder would be a goner, so it’s a good thing we don’t live in bear country. The last line of the story...”I’d die for my dog” is probably prophetic.
ReplyDeletehttps://nypost.com/2020/12/05/california-man-tackles-punches-350-pound-bear-to-save-his-dog/
Cute dog though....
DeleteAnd duh, I didn’t have to look it up, you linked to the story. It’s early here!
DeleteJ--The dog incurred terrible and frightening injuries and no doubt was worth saving, as are all of our pets. But...BEAR. I mean, come on. If Zydrunas was in a fight with a bear, I'd be devastated, but the bear would have a hell of a fight on its paws. Z is a beast when he's defending against a stranger, and he feels no pain. And I absolutely adore that dog. Just thinking of him makes me joyful.
DeleteI'm surprised you looked it up; you know what a perfectionist blogger I am. Of course I'd provide a link. Always. ;-)
I have a friend who had a dog named Buddy - but she called him Buddy the Wonderdog, so that seemed better. I have no idea what I'd do if I saw a bear. I would probably just stand there & watch it, based on past behavior when I would have been expected to DO something but didn't. If it were attacking an animal? Probably the same. Maybe I would yell. These are mysteries that I hope to never solve!
ReplyDeleteBug--If your friend just called him Wonderdog, that would be the best of all.
DeleteNo bears near us, although a mountain lion was recently spotted near a suburban home. I don’t have any pets, and if I ran up against a bear, I would likely be a goner for sure: my instinct is always to run. Exactly what they tell you not to do.
ReplyDeleteI love your news sharing ritual. Luis and I do that a lot. Since I have to spend so much time on the computer, we often have living room-to-bedroom communication. There is only a short hallway between the two areas, and I keep the door open while I am working on the computer so I can sneak furtive glances at what is on TV. Luis will call me in to watch stuff on the Spanish language news station which reports a lot of things you never see on other channels. We commiserate with each other on the mutual corruption happening in Mexico and the U.S., mostly because Mexico’s president, AMLO, has so much in common with Dictator Don.
Yep: Buddy is about as “meh” as it gets for a pet name. After seeing the video of the dog, I’m surprised he didn’t at least come up with “Socks.” lol. That said, I much prefer ‘people’ names for pets rather than naming them for an obvious physical feature. Your cats have very cool names. I remembered you writing about when you adopted them but forgot how they got their names. Had to do some serious sleuthing: Clicked on the “cats” tag and scrolled through several posts until I found a reference to when you got them. Success finally found at June 7th, 2010--- with adorable photos of them when they were wee little kitties. But no explanation for the names until I scrolled through the comments. Marlowe was apparently not deliberately named for the playwright as I had thought. No explanation for Piper, though. And likely there isn’t one, because sometimes a name just pops into your head. And it fits.
Ortizzle--I often think we suffer quite a bit by not watching more international news. Everything in the US is so very American-centric. I like to read news from the UK; they really hate 45*, and take every opportunity to skewer him.
DeleteI also prefer people names for pets. I had a very frustrating neighbor at one point who had pets named with animal names: a dog named Bear, a cat named Frog. I felt terrible for those poor things. My former colleague used to say, "Before you decide on a name for your dog, practice hollering out the front door. If you feel like an ass doing it, imagine how your dog will feel."
I don't name pets until I see them. Then I look them right in the eyes, and their names come to me immediately. I like to think that those ARE their names. I do call Marlowe by the name Kit Marlowe every once in a while. Hard to resist that.
I don't have a pet. I might chase a bear away from one of my kids or grandkids. Luckily, no bears where I live because I would probably not win against a bear.
ReplyDeleteEllen--I think I'd do a pretty good job of trying to chase the bear away from kids/grandkids as well, but no way I'd ever mix it up and punch a bear, either. You and I know our limitations.
DeleteThere are days when I'm tempted to smear our cat June with honey or fermenting apples and tie her to a tree in the Kittery woods out behind our house. But I've never seen any sign of bears out there, and most of the time I think I actually would attack a bear to save her. Now you may think I'm just claiming courage that will never be tested, as when our president said he would have rushed into that Florida school and "done something" about the active shooter. But a few years ago (15 to 20 probably)
ReplyDeletewhen we were living in a more rural area in NH, I had already turned in for the night when my wife yelled out that "something" was messing with our bird feeder, for which I had laboriously (and cleverly, I thought) constructed a sheet metal cone to thwart the squirrels. I jumped out of bed wearing just skivvies, grabbed a broom, and charged out of the house, shouting mortal threats at what I probably expected to be a raccoon. It was, however, as I could clearly see from our back porch light, a medium-sized black bear, who took one look at the broom-waving 6' 2" idiot in his underpants and ran for his life. I was proud I had defended my property, but once I calmed down, I realized it was a rash act and that I was lucky it was a black bear without any cubs nearby. So, I might well react in similar fashion, should a black bear threaten Junie. If it's a grizzly or polar bear, however, she's toast.
Yahoonski--LOL! What a great story, and well told, too. My husband would have done the same, and has, but his quarry turned out to be a skunk, and his broom, a BB gun. Both of you were lucky!
DeleteAnd I share your frustration with having a cat (I have two), but there must have been a reason we decided to adopt them. It wasn't just how cute the kitten face was. We knew what they'd grow up to be.
To be fair we do not have huge bears here in Florida but I did bang on my screen door and ran outside after a coyote that had attacked a baby deer in my back yard after the baby had run through my pool screen and fell in my pool. True story. They all ran into the woods after I exploded out the door, mom deer included. I never knew if the baby deer was okay, but in my heart I am still hoping it was. Maybe it is one of the dee that comes and eats my flowers? Now that it payback for a well intentioned deed!
ReplyDeleteMeredith--Good for you, scaring a coyote in favour of a fawn. I'd have done the same thing. (At least, I like to think so.) Apparently, the deer have now interpreted that as a sign that you are Deer Friendly, and that you have planted a buffet for them. I guess that's an understandable assumption. LOL.
DeleteOh, our L.A. TV news frequently features bears in foothill neighborhoods. We have some a few blocks north of my home. Most recently, last week, was a cute home video of a Mama Bear with two cubs recreating in someone's pool. Finally, Mama decided they had "funned" enough, so they climbed out and headed back to their mountain home.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any pets now. I don't know how I might have reacted when I was younger and more able if a bear had appeared to attack one or two of the dogs I've owned over the years. I did protect a young dog when she was attacked by our neighbor's three older dogs. I ended up with some serious bites and carry the scars still -- one in a buttocks cheek, a wicked one in the back of the lower leg, and one in my right index finger from the desperate dog I saved that was completely unharmed.
Joared--Goodness! You Californians and your bears. LOL.
DeleteDog fights are scary business. My brother and niece got in the middle of one to protect their dog. They escaped unscathed, thankfully, but their dear dog did not. It's a whirling dervish of teeth when dogs go at it.