Tierney Tredo, 19, of Penhook, said there is no doubt in her mind if it hadn't been for "Sophie," the bear would have killed her.
The 300-plus pound bear attacked the dog while Tredo and her two dogs were walking in the woods of Smith Mountain on Tuesday, April 28.
Sophie was taken to a Gretna veterinarian immediately following the attack. She was treated for a large wound on her left side, opened apparently by one swipe of the bear's slashing paw.
The dog returned home the next day after her wound was stitched. But the family returned Sophie to the vet the following day. It was at that time when another slash wound, along with puncture wounds from a bite, was found on the dog's right side.
Sophie remained under the Gretna vet's care for 11 days until she was released to return home on Tuesday, May 12.
Tredo often walks with her two dogs in the same woods near their house. She said she had never seen a bear and she had never worried about taking strolls away from the house.
She lives with Mary Plunkett, her grandmother who has raised her. The home is not far from Smith Mountain Dam.
The day of the incident, Tredo said she left the house in the morning and went into the woods she normally walks with the dogs.
In addition to Sophie, the family also owns a long-haired, mixed breed dog they adopted from the pound. "Cheyenne" is 2 or 3 years old.
When recounting the experience, the outdoor-loving brunette vividly recalled every detail. Now, she knows the feel of a bear's breath on her leg, she said.
She said they were walking along a small branch when the big dog disappeared into a thicket. Sophie, whom she has owned since she was a puppy, stayed at her side.
"Cheyenne was in the thicket about five minutes before she came running out, tail tucked between her legs. She was hollering," she said.
"Then I saw a shadow behind her and thought it was another dog. In a minute or so, I heard footsteps coming down toward me at the branch," she continued.
"It was then I saw the face break through the thicket and realized it was a bear."
As Sophie stood by her, "I started hollering 'Get away bear!' again and again." The bear approached from the other side of the branch.
"I could have touched it if I had wanted. I felt his breath on my legs," Tredo continued.
She said the bear was about four feet tall and dwarfed Cheyenne in size.
"It started toward me, and Sophie got in front of me and started barking. And I kept yelling 'Get away bear!'"
She described the bear rocking from side to side "like it was trying to figure out a way to get to me."
Sophie moved to the side, barking, apparently trying to get the bear to come after her, Tredo said. But the bear kept watching Tredo while avoiding the dog.
"I knew it wanted to get at me," she said.
Then the bear did what Tredo feared most. The bear returned to resume her stance in front of Tredo, and Cheyenne reentered the picture. The big dog ran back to Tredo, and the bear swatted the dog on the back "but it glanced off," she said. "That is when the big dog went running back to the house."
Tredo guessed about five minutes passed with things at a standoff between Sophie and the bear. The bear was still making moves, trying to get to the young woman, she said.
"Finally, Sophie ran the bear back into the thicket where it came from. I could see the bear in the woods walking back and forth," Tredo said. "I could also see Sophie."
The woman said what happened next is hard to believe: "Sophie looked back at me and barked like she was telling me to leave."
Tredo had already removed her flip-flop sandals because she knew she couldn't run in them. "I ran a little way, and I heard the dog holler. I knew then the bear had gotten hold of her."
Mrs. Plunkett was at the house, setting out plants, and heard the noise. Plunkett said she picked up a stick and ran down to the area where she heard the sounds.
"When I saw my daughter, she said, 'The bear has Sophie.'"
Mrs. Plunkett got into the pickup truck and drove down into the field, honking the horn. That's when she saw Sophie running toward the house. When she returned to the house, Sophie was in front. That was when she saw the massive injury to the dog's left side.
They loaded Sophie into the pickup and made a hurried trip to the vet in Gretna. It took a while for him to clean and stitch the wound. When the dog was returned to the office, she was treated for the injuries on her right side. The vet bill is more than $1,000, the women said.
After returning home, Sophie would not eat or drink water. "She has been throwing up and we can't get medicine to stay down," Plunkett said Tuesday.
When Sophie was taken to the Franklin County Animal Hospital Wednesday, she was immediately given fluids and medicine. Dr. Eric Krauss and Dr. Jonathan Amos are treating her at the hospital at no charge. Sophie was in critical condition Thursday at press time.
The incident was reported to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. A game warden came to investigate. He and Tredo returned to the scene.
There was no sign of the bear or Tredo's flip-flops. "The bear got them, I guess," she said.
Lt. Karl Martin with the VDGIF said he suspects the bear may have been a female with a cub or cubs.
"Normally," he said, "the black bear is shy and not aggressive with humans. The big dog may have posed a threat when it entered the woods, causing the bear to follow it into the open."
Whatever the case, the soft-spoken, young woman now has only one thing on her mind. She wants to kill the bear.
"I want to get a gun and get someone to teach me how to shoot it. I want to kill that bear," she said.
(Franklin News Post - May 15, 2009)
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