This is how a Jack Russell Terrier saved its 61-year-old owner from certain death in Vermont
Occasionally, a bark is more effective than a bite.
According to a news release from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, a 61-year-old Vermont lady was saved from a black bear that was biting her leg when her Jack Russell terrier began to growl and attracted the creature’s attention.
Susan Lee told wildlife officers that on August 20 she was walking with her two dogs, a Jack Russell terrier and a labradoodle, on a trail on her property in Strafford when she heard a “loud noise” and a black bear rushed her, forcing her to tumble over a stone wall.
She then experienced “pain in her upper left leg” and knew she had been bitten by the bear. When her Jack Russell dog began barking at the bear, the attack ceased.
Lee’s leg was freed after the bear was distracted by Lee’s barking. She was able to escape with her dogs farther down the path, where she contacted 911. She was transported by a neighbor to the Gifford Medical Center, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released.
Lee suffered a bite wound on her left leg and many two- to nine-inch-long scratches on both legs, according to a news statement.
Wildlife officials found that the bear was a mother with her cubs that was provoked by Lee and her pets. They were not able to locate the bear.
The Jack Russell terrier belonging to Lee was not injured. The dog remained safe by using “ninja maneuvers,” as described by Game Warden Sergeant Jeffrey Whipple to us.
“If I were to predict what would have happened if the dog wasn’t there, the bear may have caused more damage to (Lee),” Whipple said. “But most likely, when she was knocked down and was out of the fight, the bear would have got off of her and retreated.”
According to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department website, Vermont has one of the most dense black bear populations in the nation, with roughly one bear every three square miles.
There are around 6,000 in Vermont, and it is the only variety of bear found there. Jaclyn Comeau, a bear scientist with the Wildlife Department, stated in a press statement that the attack on Lee was “very unusual” because to the animals’ reluctance to approach humans. Only three previous bear assaults have been registered by the agency in the state.
“However, at this time of year black bears are moving in family units and mothers will be protective of their cubs,” Comeau said in a statement. “If confronted by a bear it is essential to remain calm and back away slowly, and to fight back immediately if attacked.”
