Dog Attacked By Bear

Background

While walking in the woods near his home in Anchorage, Alaska, Oddjob, an 8 year old mixed breed dog, heard a sound in the bushes and went to investigate. Unfortunately for him, the sound came from a bear who was less than thrilled to be disturbed by an inquisitive dog.

Oddjob's pet parent, Keith, shares the full story:

"Oddjob is an 8 year old shepherd mix we got from the pound. He loves to go for walks in the woods that surround Anchorage and, though we sometimes see wildlife, we make a lot of noise when we travel so bears and moose usually stay clear of us.

Right before the point on our walk where we normally turn around, I heard something big moving in the bushes. Oddjob barked once then charged into the bushes. I immediately knew it was not a moose, when I heard the huffing of the agitated bear. I called for Oddjob, hoping he would break off the attack and return, without bringing the bear back with him.

Oddjob came running out of the gully and, for a moment, I thought he had escaped serious injury. Then I noticed he had a deep gash on his rear haunches, one on his abdomen, and various cuts on his neck. He was bleeding heavily and we were a half-hour walk from the car. Oddjob started to flag at the end, but made it back to the car on his own after having lost a lot of blood. I was amazed at his stamina.

Oddjob was able to walk into the pet hospital by himself and even climb up on the scales to be weighed. When they heard it was a bear attack though, we got moved to the front of the queue.

At first the vet thought that most of the damage was torn muscles. It wasn't until Oddjob had been anesthetized, and the vet had a chance to look at his abdominal wound, that they discovered the bear had bitten into his intestines. The injury was very serious and required that 6 inches of his gut be removed. The concern was that damaged bowel wouldn't heal and he would go septic. We were able to bring him home after three days, but were told to keep an eye on him and bring him back at the first sign of infection.

We were uncertain as to whether he'd be the same old Oddjob, but he recovered remarkably quickly: his appetite was good and soon we were able to take him on short walks around the neighborhood. We were relieved when two weeks passed and the intestinal repair seemed to be holding. Pretty soon the stiffness in his muscles went away and he was back to bouncing up and down when he saw the Yorkie in the yard next door. Now, apart from the missing hair, which hasn't quite quite grown back in the places they had to shave him, and the scars on his hindquarters, he is the same dog as he was before the attack.

Embrace really came through for us with Oddjob's accident and emergency visit. Oddjob's injuries were extensive and the bill was astronomical. 80% of the charges were covered by his insurance, the claims process was very simple, and the reimbursement was extremely fast. I would highly suggest anyone who has a high-spirited dog consider Embrace Pet Insurance."