Those Florida men are just built different.
Blake Sprout, a Florida resident who lives in Orange City, was just trying to let his dogs out in front yard back on December 20th when he found himself going toe-to-toe (toe-to-claw?) with a trio of bear cubs. The man was reportedly just letting his dogs out for a late night bathroom break when his puppers came in contact with the cubs that were hanging out near his house, as he told FOX 35 Orlando:
“There were three bears in my yard and my dogs saw them and ran straight for them.”
Typical behavior for smaller, yappy dogs who think they own the place.
The Florida man didn’t have much time to react – let alone think – when he saw one of his dogs run right into the face of danger. His dog, named “Karen,” was the one who got the worst of the bear cub attack. The wild animal had the little dog in its teeth when Sprout ran out to confront it. The dog owner ended up getting bit by the bear as well, but succeeded in getting his dog free:
“He growled and charged and latched onto my stomach. He had Karen in his mouth and I ran up to it and just kind of kicked it in the chest area (to get the bear) to drop her.”
l’ll bet Karen probably wanted to speak with the bear’s manager after this encounter.
Sorry, I know that’s a low-hanging Karen joke, but can you really blame me? I’ve never heard of a dog, or really any pet, being named Karen. I’d love to know the story behind it. Did the kids name it? Is it supposed to be a funny name? It is because she’s an annoying yappy dog? I guess the only that’s really important is that “Karen” ended up being okay, though she suffered from some bite wounds as well.
The Florida man later explained that he just couldn’t stand idly by and watch his dog meet its demise, so that’s why he jumped into action and saved the day. He also couldn’t imagine telling his kids that their beloved pet Karen had passed away:
“She’s part of the family. I couldn’t just sit there and watch her die, you know? My kids love her, it was right around Christmas time. I couldn’t tell them at Christmas that our dog was gone.”
Blake Sprout and his dog got awfully lucky that only the bear cubs were the ones that attacked – and that they only suffered minor injuries. Florida Fish and Wildlife later confirmed that the mother bear was in the area, though it wasn’t seen present in the security camera footage showing the Florida man save his dog from the feisty bear cub. They have since trapped the bear family and moved them to another location, they told FOX 35 in a statement:
“Florida Wildlife and Conversation bear management staff set traps on the property and successfully caught the three cubs and adult female bear, then relocated the family group.”
In Florida, it is now legal to shoot and kill a bear in self defense or if you are defending your property. Blake Sprout could have used a firearm to defend his dog – and his home – if he had one or could have grabbed one in time. However, the Florida man knew he had to act fast, and used some good, old-fashioned man power instead to save his dog’s life.
And it was all caught on camera:
