Pennsylvania woman scares off bear to save dog

Lions and tigers and bears couldn’t stop this woman from saving her dog.

Suzan Merritt saved her dog as it was being attacked by a bear in her backyard in the Poconos, Pennsylvania, local broadcast station WNEP reported. Merritt let her German Shepherd, Otto, out in her backyard around 9:30 p.m. Thursday night when she could hear him being attacked.

It is believed the bear and its cub climbed over the yard’s five-foot high fence and went after the family pet, WNEP reported.

Merritt, 38, said 11-year-old Otto was defending himself when she ran after the bear and began “swatting at him,” the New York Daily News reported.

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'I quickly registered there was a very large black bear and her cub in the yard and they were tussling with my dog. I went to try and get the dog away from it,” said Merritt, the Daily Mail reported. Merritt, who was then thrown to the ground by the bear, suffers from scratches to her neck, arms and head, which had a five-inch gash and required 22 staples.

Still, Merritt managed to get back up and shoo the bear away, as her husband Chris Merritt ran into the backyard to help, the Daily Mail reported.

Merritt then brought Otto to the family vet, where he is undergoing treatment for his wounds, WNEP reported. The police arrived at the scene to find the bears but were unable to, the Associated Press reported.

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