A man from California tackled and punched a 350 pound bear to save his dog before Thanksgiving.
Kaleb Benham was at his home in Grass Valley, California, when he thought something just didn’t sound right at the direction where his 90-pound pit bull, Buddy, had been playing.
“I heard a growl, looked about 75-100 feet down, and the bear was dragging him by his head, had his head in his mouth,” Benham shared.
“Honestly the only thing I could think of was ‘save my baby.”
“I just ran down there, plowed into the bear, tackled it and grabbed it by the throat and started hitting it in the face and the eye until it let go,” he added.
He then desperately dashed to find a veterinarian open on the night before Thanksgiving, as the first place he tried had been closed down due to a positive COVID-19 case.
“My first thought was that I was going to lose him,” Benham recalled.
Fortunately, he was able to bring Buddy to Mother Lode Veterinary Hospital, and had prepared for surgery as soon as they heard about the situation.
Buddy was immediately put into surgery as soon as they arrived, where the dog received staples, stitches and tubes inserted into his head to drain fluid.
“I just stood there and watched through the window for 3 1/2 for hours,” Benham said.
The pair spend Thanksgiving in bed, but Benham is more worried as the bear had been back to their property several times since the attack.
“It made an attack and had it’s food and it’s food got taken from it and it wants it back, I feel like,” Benham said.
Buddy, who is now making a speedy recovery, was rescued from a shelter a few years ago.
“If it was your kid, what would you do. That’s my kid, I would die for my dog,” said Benham.