Black Bear Encounter: Pet Dog Mauled To Death In Savage Attack During Walk

A black bear attacked and killed a pet dog during a walk in the neighborhood at Northampton, England, on Monday night (June 15).

The owner of the dog, identified as the 42-year-old Julia Max, had taken her two-year-old dachshund-schnauzer mix dog named Poppy outside for a walk in the neighborhood after returning from work. However, the dog suddenly ran away from the owner and bolted through the bushes into the nearby woods and started barking at the tree.

The incident soon became tragic when Max noticed what the pooch was barking at. By the time she caught up to the dog, a black bear weighing approximately 350 pounds climbed down from its perch and mauled the dog to death before fleeing from the scene disappearing into a stream.

“It all happened so quick — it took my brain a while to put together what was going on. Things happened faster than I understood they were happening,” said Max.

Max mentioned that the horrific encounter only lasted a few seconds. She added that it was so fast that she couldn’t recall all the details. She found Poppy yelping and tossing on the ground as max was frozen with fear. The yelping noises stopped within seconds as the dog succumbed to its injuries at the scene.

“I was like, ‘OK, I’ll just run over there and grab her leash,’ But I couldn’t get to her before the bear started coming down. It seemed like an eternity. But it was only 30 seconds to a minute,” she added.

Max then reported the incident to the Northampton Police Department after which, the Massachusetts Environmental police officer examined Poppy and determined that the attack was not intentional as the bear had attacked the dog with its claws while trying to escape. The agency was not actively looking for the bear.

Max also mentioned that she and Luca, her six-year-old son, were heartbroken over the death of their dog. She also added that Luca and Poppy shared a special bond and had told her he wanted to marry the dog when he grows up just about a week prior to the incident.

“The town could send out a notice, or do a better job with tracking them and being aware of their behavior,” Max said. “I would have been sad to see this happen to any animal. To have it be the pet you love and cuddle and play with and take care of was almost too much to see that happen. No animal deserves that.”

They laid the dog to rest in the backyard of their house. No further information was available at the time of writing.