A nightmare situation.
Lee Ann Galante of Butler Township, just north of Pittsburgh, let her dog out to their backyard without seeing that a momma bear and her three cubs were eating out of her bird feeder. Once she saw the wildlife, she jumped into action to save her dog.
While we are often taught the mantra “they are more scared of you than you are of them,” regarding wildlife, this momma bear was ready to defend her young when she saw the woman approaching to grab her dog. That is when the bear came at Lee Ann. The bear pushed her face first into the concrete, biting her arms and her head.
She recalled to News 11 as she recovered in her hospital bed:
“She was on top of me. I thought I was going to die… I didn’t think I was going to make it. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. She was pulling so hard on it, I thought I was going to get scalped.
I’m screaming, ‘Someone please help me.’ I’m screaming at the top of my lungs. It was terrifying.”
Thankfully, she managed to escape the bear, grabbed her dog, and ran into the kitchen, where she called 911 to get medical attention. She feared that the mother bear would try and come at her again, given the aggressive attack.
Once medical professionals addressed her, it was deemed she would make a full recovery. Even a trauma surgeon at Allegheny General Hospital, Jennifer Chennoted, noted she was lucky to have made it out of the situation.
“She has a fair amount of puncture wounds on the back of her neck, on her arm itself, and pretty significant tears or lacerations across her scalp. She also has several broken bones on her nose or face.”
The Pennsylvania Game Commission visited her home to locate the mother and cubs after the attack. The family was found hiding in a tree, and the police report said she was still aggressive. The mother was euthanized, and the cubs were tranquilized and re-released into the wild.
It was a nightmare situation, and boy, Lee Ann’s dog was lucky to have a mom who would put herself in that situation. She took an absolute beating from mama bear and came out on the other side. Mama bear, who most likely just felt threatened and wanted to protect her cubs, wasn’t so lucky.
Listen to Lee Ann emotionally recall the whole attack below.
