Vermont woman mauled by bear in yard while letting dog out

A Vermont lady was mauled by a bear in her yard after letting her canine out, officers stated.

The assault occurred Wednesday night at a condominium complicated in Winhall close to Stratton Mountain Resort, within the Inexperienced Mountains.

The girl, recognized as 43-year-old Sarah Dietl, had let her Shih Tzu out when the canine “instantly” chased a bear cub up a tree, in keeping with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Division.

“She described that the cub’s mom subsequently charged her, knocked her to the bottom, and started to maul her,” the division stated in a press launch.

“She got here working out of the darkish. She ran proper to me,” Dietl instructed the Brattleboro Reformer. “It was terrifying.”

Dietl known as for assist, and her accomplice was capable of separate her from the bear, officers stated. He smacked the bear within the head with a heavy-duty flashlight, the Reformer reported.

As soon as again inside their home, the bear “charged” on the door after they opened it for his or her canine, however they had been capable of forestall the animal from getting into, officers stated.

They known as 911 and Dietl was transported to a neighborhood hospital the place she was handled for non-life-threatening accidents to her head, hand and aspect and launched on Thursday, officers stated.

For the reason that assault, recreation wardens and biologists have continued to look the neighborhood for the bear and its cubs however haven’t but discovered something as of Friday, a spokesperson for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Division confirmed.

The couple’s canine was discovered unhurt.

“Earlier than letting pets out at night time, I’d urge Vermonters to gentle their yards and make loads of noise to permit wildlife within the space time to maneuver on,” Kyle Isherwood, a recreation warden with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Division, stated in an announcement. “Together with securing meals that would entice wildlife right into a developed space, steps like this are necessary for the protection of individuals and wildlife.”

Throughout their investigation, recreation wardens and biologists realized {that a} feminine bear with cubs had been seen recurrently within the space all through the summer time and fall. In addition they decided {that a} bear-proof dumpster on the property was broken and “not getting used correctly,” and that a number of ornamental pumpkins exterior the complicated “confirmed indicators of getting been ate up by bears,” the wildlife division stated.

Bear assaults in Vermont are uncommon, although residents should take “each step” to keep away from attracting bears, together with securing meals sources, Jaclyn Comeau, a wildlife biologist and the black bear venture chief for the division, stated.

“More and more daring and high-risk habits from bears is because of Vermonters’ failure to take the proactive steps wanted for safely coexisting alongside a wholesome black bear inhabitants,” Comeau stated in an announcement.