Bear strolls by as dog lounges calmly in West Hartford – NBC Connecticut

A bear strolled through a backyard in West Harford on Tuesday as a pet dog was lounging on the grass, unaware of what was going on behind him.

Tracy Odlum said her Golden Retriever, Finn, was “very chill and unbothered by the bear strolling through his backyard” on Tuesday evening.

Odlum was sitting on the back patio and she was stunned when she noticed a bear coming from the back corner of the house, but she didn’t want to alarm Finn.

When she noticed that her dog caught a scent of the bear and stood up, she said she immediately called for him go inside like he was going to get a treat.

The bear then left the yard.

Odlum said Finn never turned around and did not see the bear.

She said she doesn’t know if Finn would have chased the bear if he saw it because her goofy Golden “makes friends with everyone and everything.”

The black bear population in Connecticut has been increasing since the early 2000s and it's expected to continue growig, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.  

They said, if you see a bear on your property you can either leave the bear alone and wait for it to leave or make loud noises from a safe distance to attempt to scare the bear away. After the bear leaves the property, remove anything that may have attracted it to the area.

They also recommend removing bird feeders between late March through November.

You can read more recommendations on bears in the state here.

You can report a bear sighting here.

DEEP has a map of wildlife sightings online and you can check sightings of bears, bobcats and moose by town here.