Man's best friend has made more than one appearance in the Predator Watch column for coming between wild animals and humans.
There was Moses, the 6-year-old German Shepherd who saved his owner from a rabid bobcat attack in Arizona this year by breaking the wildcat's neck. “He did what dogs, German Shepherds do,” the grateful owner said.
But we've also learned that the size of the dog does not always determine its willingness to defend, as seen in the video of a small dog trying to drive off a rabid beaver attacking an 8-year-old boy in New Jersey.
Related: Predator Watch: Beaver Attacks Boy; Dog Saves Owner From Bobcat
The hero this week is a tiny French bulldog named Cassie who died trying to save her owners from a bear attack in Northern California. The attack took place outside the couple's rural home on Sept. 19.
A black bear attacked Jeff Wilson after he heard Cassie's bark and went to check the backyard. “Cassie immediately came to his defense, putting herself between Jeff and the bear,” Jeff's wife Mallory told KRON 4. "I came outside after hearing screaming and was also attacked before any of us had time to understand what was happening.”
According to the New York Post, Mallory threw a chair at the bear when it ran off with Cassie in its mouth. The bear released Cassie but didn't flee until Jeff pushed a patio heater into it.
Their friend Rachel Moscon listed the couple's injuries on a GoFundMe page: Jeff had two broken ribs and many bite and claw wounds, while Mallory had severe head and face injuries, a broken hand, and bite and puncture wounds.
Following emergency surgery for bite injuries and cuts along her spine, Cassie's recovery looked promising: she started walking and drinking water just two days later. Sadly, she died the next morning.
In what reads like a moving eulogy for Cassie, Moscon wrote that “in the moment Jeff needed her most, this little dog courageously put herself between him and a bear.”
Remarkably, we have another story this week of someone surviving a bear attack in his backyard.
When a black bear started running at 12-year-old Robin Westgate in Bellingham, Wash., he had to make a decision: "It was fight or die. I didn't really have an option."
Robin had gone to his backyard fruit orchard after dinner to get a popcorn bowl when the bear surprised him. He knew that curling up and playing dead or running away was exactly what he should not do in that situation. "If you fight, you have a better chance, so fight," he said.
And fight he did. KCRA 3 reports:
Robin said the bear bit him on the wrist and he slammed his hand and thumb in her eye. He punched and screamed until his little sister, Riverley Westgate, heard him and ran for help. And when Robin's dad came, the bear turned her sights on him.
Related: Predator Watch: How to Survive a Wild Animal Attack
Robin's father's paternal instincts immediately kicked in; he said he went into "code red" mode when the bear charged at him. "She crunches into my hand right at the moment that I land the hardest punch of my life," he said.
While the bear ran away, it eventually returned and has not yet been captured.
Robin still keeps the risks he faces in proper perspective and thinks his backyard is safe. “Just because I got attacked didn't change anything about the overall danger from the bears," he said.
I've encountered two animals in the backyards of my houses over the years: a raccoon looking up at me with glowing eyes from a trash can late at night and a fawn stumbling across the grass early one morning.
Share stories of your own backyard encounters in the comments.
