Michigan Black Bear Attack: Pet Dog Seriously Injured After Being Viciously Mauled Outside Home

A pet dog had to undergo a surgery after the canine was attacked by a bear. The incident took place in Michigan, on April 18.

Speaking to local media Friday (April 24), Heather Willobee, the owner of the dog, said she let the canine, eight-year-old Lucy, outside and when she called out the dog’s name, she saw something big right behind Lucy.

“I could see her in the light and I knew she was coming but I also knew she wasn’t coming alone and that something big was right behind her,” she recalled. It was nothing but a 300-pound black bear. The woman managed to get the dog inside and saw that it was injured. However, in order to take her pet to the vet, the woman had to scare away the bear.

“Normally you can bang pots and pans or yell at them and they’ll run away but this bear was not doing that," Willobee said. Assuming that the bear had gone, the woman proceeded to her truck with her dog. She placed the dog in the backseat and was shocked to see that the bear had returned.

“It didn’t move. It just kept eye contact; I kept eye contact and I was just like 'I don’t have time for you, bear. I need to save my dog,'” Willobee recalled. She drove her dog to the vet with claw marks all over its body. The canine underwent surgery and returned home two days later.

A GoFundMe page was set up to arrange funds for the dog’s medical expenses.

“On April 18th my mom's dog, Lucy, was attacked by a black bear. After being followed up onto the porch, Lucy came inside and collapsed. She was torn up and punctured on both sides. As my mom was loading her into the truck to head to the emergency vet, the bear stood 10 feet away watching. Lucy has had successful surgery and stayed at the vet in Traverse city for 2 nights. She is now recovering at home and is continually being monitored for infection. She is unable to stand, let alone walk,” Willobee ’s daughter Andrea Lynn wrote on the page, adding the Lucy, a rescue dog, “may never run again due to the extensive damage on her shoulder.”