# Woman punches bear in the face to save her dog **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 31, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801 "2011-08-31T23:23:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/1 "2011-08-31T23:23:39Z")
[Just what it says on the box](http://juneauempire.com/local/2011-08-30/woman-punches-bear-save-her-dog#.Tl5tI13oZBl). As the so-called “journalist” failed to get a shot of the act in progress, here is a [visual aid](http://cheezburger.com/DJManiak667/lolz/View/3562648320). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Doughnut\_Thief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Doughnut\_Thief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Doughnut_Thief)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/2 "2011-08-31T23:49:26Z")
She’s not the [first](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVS1UfCfxlU) ---
**Author:** ![wei\_ji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wei\_ji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wei_ji)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/3 "2011-09-01T01:55:40Z")
You can also try “Bearin debasement,” 08/04/11 on this board. Here is the address–I think. > **[bearin' debasement](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=619016)** > > Story emailed to family in 2007 by the woman telling the story. I got it from her husband, who was serving in Iraq with the Alaska National Guard at the time. Incident occurred on Starr Hill, Juneau, Alaska. The author titled it: “A Bear Story... Same town, same area–base of Mt. Roberts. Black bear “contacts” are common over many years now, although not usually as dramatic as this. Black bears are accustomed to people due to their aggressive hunt for garbage and teach their “kids” the same behavior. Big problem locally. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/4 "2011-09-01T02:16:42Z")
Yeah, I really like my dog. He’s the coolest dog in the world, but if a bear took him it wouldn’t even cross my mind to punch a bear in the face to get him back. If it were my kid, yea, but not my dog. Good thing this didn’t end horribly for this woman. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/5 "2011-09-01T03:52:09Z")
I don’t mean to sound cynical, but is there any proof this actually happened? The woman didn’t take her dog to the vet, she didn’t get any medical help herself… There’s no witness except her own boyfriend. (And the bear and the dog, but presumably the bear won’t be answering any questions without the presence of his lawyer, and the dog is hardly an objective observer.) I’m trying to figure out how a reporter chooses to write a story like this. So some chick calls him up with a tale, utterly unsubstantiated, and the reporter then proceeds to write it up as a news story. Gotta love reportage in the 21st century. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of bears attacking dogs. In fact for some reason lately I’ve developed an unhealthy anxiety about the number of bears running around in New York. (I had no idea there were _thousands_ of 'em!) So if the story’s true, more power to the woman for saving little Fudge. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/6 "2011-09-01T17:24:12Z")
I know that there are, indeed, some things too minor to go to the vet about. I myself am reluctant to take an animal to the vet for minor things. But some people have a cheapskate’s definition of what’s minor. > [@](#): > > Collins said when she looked outside she saw a bear was crouching down with Fudge its paws and was biting the back of the dog’s neck. > > “That bear was carrying her like a salmon,” she said. > [@](#): > > Her dog suffered some claw and bite marks but they weren’t deep so she said she decided not to take Fudge to the vet. She said the dog appeared to be more shocked than injured. She’s keeping an eye on the marks and will get Fudge checked out if they appear infected. It can be hard to persuade people to take their animals to the vet…but geez, people, “bitten on the neck by a bear” ought to get you into the “please take me to the vet” category if anything will. ---
**Author:** ![wei\_ji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wei\_ji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wei_ji)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/7 "2011-09-01T20:51:55Z")
Allow me to vouch for Juneau. You become too familiar with the bear problem and thus comfortable with it: “She believes this same one has been around her house many times and is not afraid of people…She said she’s even followed it to take pictures before.” (As did I when I lived there.) You find yourself in a situation like this, you love your dog: “It was all so fast. All I could think about was my dog was going to die,” said Collins…It was a stupid thing but I couldn’t help it,” she said. “I know you’re not supposed to do that but I didn’t want my dog to be killed.” You’re not too inclined to think before you act… “Collins said the whole experience of a physical encounter shook her up, calling the whole thing an eye-opener. She said she’ll be taking a lot more caution from now on and definitely won’t be approaching neighborhood bears.” I don’t see anything on how the story was generated, but usually she would report the encounter to the Juneau police and the reporter would read it on the police blotter and “follow up.” It may not make sense but it has the feel of Juneau. Yes, it’s possible. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/8 "2011-09-02T04:05:24Z")
> [@choie](#): > > I don’t mean to sound cynical, but is there any proof this actually happened? The woman didn’t take her dog to the vet, she didn’t get any medical help herself… There’s no witness except her own boyfriend. My Cocker, who loved a good fight, nearly lost an eye in play one with a bigger dog. MY wife said, “Taker her and get her sewn up.” Thinking somewhat like **chloie** , “Why? She’s not that hurt and she’s obviously pumped as it is the coolest thing that she has ever done.” “Just do it,” so Lady got to show off her war wound to everybody at the vet’s. And every creature she met for the next week, repeating her war cry, “Yes, I like to fight. Do you like to fight?” Decisions like vet visits are often based on human desires, not animal needs. And people have been punching the snout-based reset buttons on creatures as diverse as bears and sharks for a long time. And if you do it right you can make them sneeze. Good times! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/9 "2011-09-02T07:37:53Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Yeah, I really like my dog. He’s the coolest dog in the world, but if a bear took him it wouldn’t even cross my mind to punch a bear in the face to get him back. If it were my kid, yea, but not my dog. > > Good thing this didn’t end horribly for this woman. Lucky I don’t have any kids, because my kid would have ended up as lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/10 "2011-09-02T09:30:36Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Lucky I don’t have any kids, because my kid would have ended up as lunch. And if my wife couldn’t outrun me she would end up in the bears guts as well. And I’m just talking koala bears, not frigging big ones. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/11 "2011-09-02T14:09:21Z")
I remember a ranger in a national park saying that it’s OKAY to punch a bear in the snout as a method of last resort. You can’t outrun a bear if it attacks. So if the flap-your-arms-wide-and-try-to-scare-it-away thing didn’t work, you can either fall down, curl up in a ball and pray…or punch the bear on the nose. Neither method is recommended, but if you’ve got no other choice…the snout is the only vulnerable spot on a bear. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/12 "2011-09-02T15:25:43Z")
What are the odds this woman ends up on _The Colbert Report?_ ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/13 "2011-09-02T15:33:34Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > And if my wife couldn’t outrun me she would end up in the bears guts as well. > > And I’m just talking koala bears, not frigging big ones. Shit, if I was attacked by a gummy bear and there was a kid I could toss in to distract it… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/14 "2011-09-02T15:36:22Z")
Yes, what better place than _The Coldbear Report_. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/15 "2011-09-04T07:09:47Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > And if my wife couldn’t outrun me she would end up in the bears guts as well. > > And I’m just talking koala bears, not frigging big ones. Huh, koalas. What’re you planning on doing when it’s a _drop_-bear, eh? Eh? ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/16 "2011-09-04T07:44:15Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Shit, if I was attacked by a gummy bear and there was a kid I could toss in to distract it… Note to self, cross **Boyo Jim** ’s babysitting services off the list… ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/17 "2011-09-04T09:35:28Z")
I wonder if this is going to change the division of household chores. I will walk the dogs and you will do EVERYTHING ELSE! ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-punches-bear-in-the-face-to-save-her-dog/594801/18 "2011-09-04T10:05:18Z")
[![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3090/2576050463_0f2b6cf245_b.jpg "Alaska Girls Kick Ass") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/fajalar/2576050463/) 😃