Brave Dog Saves Man From Bear Attack and Lives

Henry, the

Labrador Retriever

mix, is the reason dogs are known as man’s best friend. When his owner was attacked by a black bear during

their hike, this brave dog acted without hesitation, leaping onto the enraged bear and saving his master from the maw of certain death.Steven Kirchbaum and Henry were taking a routine walk through the George Washington National Forest

when they came upon two tiny black bear cubs -- a sign as adorable as it is foreboding.

When all of a sudden, on to the trail comes 250-pounds of maternal fury lumbering right at Kirchbaum. “She bit my thigh and knocked me to the ground, and so I am on my back and she is biting my legs,” Kirchbaum told reporters at ABC.

It was then that Steve’s loyal pooch launched into action, latching onto the bear and distracting her long enough for Steve to get his hands on a rock. To put an end to the tussle once and for all, he clubbed the enraged bear in the head. “I didn’t want to hurt her. [I] just wanted to stop her biting me.”After a swift shot to the side of her sizable head, the mother bear and her cubs scampered back off into the forest, leaving Steven and Henry to collect themselves and

assess the damage done.Steven sustained a number of deep wounds from when the bear bit his leg, one puncture as wide as a half-dollar. Our brave dog, Henry, ended up with some serious rear leg injuries.What’s even more amazing is the fact that, even though the pair of them both suffered a great amount of damage to their legs, they still managed to walk the ¾ mile out of the forest and back to Steve’s car. Emergency responders said that they were at great risk for passing out from blood loss and are incredibly lucky that they made it out alright.

Now that they are all stitched up and on the mend, both Steve and his brave dog Henry are expected to make a full recovery.

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