Photo-BRENDA GRUNDT, WWW.WAWA-NEWS.COM
Posted on 07/22/2006 5:30:03 PM PDT by kanawa
A Waterloo man and his dog made a harrowing escape from the clutches of a vicious black bear Thursday while portaging near Wawa, Ont.
Tom Tilley, 55, killed the nearly 200-pound bear by jumping on its back and stabbing the aggressive animal with a six-inch hunting knife after his dog alerted him and distracted the bear.
"Love is a very powerful emotion and my thought right away was, 'You're not going to kill my dog,' " Tilley said yesterday.
"I really consider my dog a hero. Without that first warning I would have had the bear clamping down on my neck."
Tilley had planned on spending 12 days portaging through the area near Wawa with his American Staffordshire, Sam.
Four days into the trip, as he was making his third trip back to the water near Abbey Lake to retrieve his gear, he heard his dog growl and noticed the bear closing in on him. He said he did what he's been taught to do when a bear is close -- he starting waving his arms and slowing started backing away from the animal.
The bear moved off the trail, but a few seconds later reappeared, cutting off Tilley's escape route.
"That's when I knew I had a serious problem . . . I was lunch," he said.
Sam, who was behind Tilley before the bear moved up the trail, was now between the bear and his owner. Instead of taking an aggressive stance, the dog stood sideways blocking the bear's route.
"The bear took a few steps down the trail and clamped its mouth on the back of my dog," Tilley said. "By attracting the bear's attention like that and distracting the bear from me it gave me the quick opportunity I needed to run around to the back of the bear, get on its back and with my knife start stabbing it."
Tilley had recently purchased the knife that would save his life after reading the story of Jacqueline Perry, the young Cambridge doctor who was killed by a bear last September.
Perry's husband attempted to fend off the animal with a Swiss Army Knife -- the only weapon he had.
"When I read the report about her death, it really hit home to me that these things are possible," Tilley said.
"I owe her husband a real debt of gratitude because if I hadn't heard her story and got that knife, I wouldn't be telling this story."
After making sure the animal was dead, Tilley realized he had suffered a wound to his hand and Sam had two puncture marks on his back. He needed to get help, but was a two-day portage away from civilization.
Dragging his canoe across the short portage, Tilley paddled for about an hour before he came across a pair of Americans who happened to have a satellite phone.
They called for help and two hours later, a cargo plane arrived to take Tilley back to Wawa for medical attention.
He was treated and released from hospital.
News of his feat passed quickly through the small community, with a population of just over 3,000.
"He had a lot of cojones to do what he did," said Brenda Grundt, who operates the local news site Wawa-news.com and drove Tilley two hours back to where he'd left his van after the incident.
LUCKY TO HAVE KNIFE
"It's pretty amazing. Here's a guy that wouldn't be here if he hadn't happened to have a knife on him."
As for Tilley, it wasn't until he was back in his van alone with Sam that he took in the gravity of the situation.
"I just thanked God I was alive and that my dog was alive and cried a bit, but they were tears of thanks and relief," he said.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has sent the bear's body to Guelph and Ottawa for testing.
"It's very unusual for a bear to attack a person (and) pretty amazing this gentleman was able to kill it just with a knife," said Jolanta Kowalski, spokes-person for the ministry.
Because Wawa doesn't have a veterinarian's office and a specialist wasn't available to treat his hand, Tilley decided to push through and make the long journey home that night.
Back in Waterloo, news of his experience trickled back to amazed friends and family. Despite the danger, Tilley said the incident hasn't erased his love of the outdoors.
"My daughter says I'm not allowed to go up there anymore," he said with a laugh. " But I left my canoe there knowing I'll have to go back to get it."
Photo-BRENDA GRUNDT, WWW.WAWA-NEWS.COM
Interesting. I will look at that link tomorrow. Thanks!
Night!
I gues this is just another ho-hum bear bites dog, man kills bear stories :)
Night Kanawa!
I'm lighting a candle for you and Sam now :)
Hope you both heal fast!
Cars, by themselves, can't jump a fence and attack anybody. That is the only way they compare to a dog which jumps the fence by itself.
ping for later......
Funny :)
That's a knife...
Bowie style I think.
Thank G-d you're ok. And nice going. ;)
That's one of those Canadian "real man" stories, you can tell those grandkids some day.
Rebel_Yell2 who stayed in contact with Free Republic as he made his way out of Lebanon on the Orient Queen, refusing to go to the land of the enemy,Syria by bus with his co-employees.
Kanawa, who jumped a bear to save Tilley, and dispatched the bear handily, saving his dogs life and his own, proving the truth of the relationship between man and dog which has been attacked by many.
We should ask Jim Robinson to start a Freeper Hall of Fame. Both of these men should be in it.
It is a testament to Free Republic that these two great men regard the Freeper community as their family to whom it is important they report. I appreciate both of these men, not just because of what they have accomplished in dire straights, but because they exemplify the conservative values for which Free Republic stands. This forum is a collection of exemplary people, and those who attempt to smear that should remember that fact.
I am proud to be in their company and to know both of them. I would go to them if they ever needed my help.
You saw Rebel's thread today with the pics he took?
If not, I will post the link to you tomorrow. Night :)
(and bump that post of yours. we do have some outstanding freepers!)
Yet, having a driver that lost control, a car may slam into the child on the other side of a fence.
Hear hear!
Very well said.
Waiting for the "Oh my god, that looks like a vicious PIT BULL, those should be BANNED!" knee jerk reactionaries to chime in.
And I so appreciate you and everyone who has chimed in on this thread. Freepers are my kind of folk, well most are.
Have a restful night and see you later!
Can't do one without doing the other. But then logic ain't your long suit.
L
Very well done! And Sam too!
DING!
And there it is, another uncalled for attack on a breed the poster has no doubt never associated with in any way.
I wonder what kind of wimpified metrosexual 'man' doesn't.
L
I'm guessing those drains are there to keep infection from setting in. What a dog! And how blessed you are to have each other. I can't thank you enough for sharing this remarkable adventure with us all, here.
Hub was reading the thread with me, said he had a buck knife exactly like yours when he was a Boy Scout, said he has no idea what ever happened to it when he went away to college. I'm thinking I need to get him one for a gift. He's got a Leatherman, but a buck knife is always ready to use.
I gave him his dog--click on my screen name to see Hub's puppy Tinker. Tinker loves me, but he IS Hub's dog, and Hub's alone. There's a difference, one that I'm sure you and your dog know, a spiritual bond.
Well, I guess we know one, now, don't we? ;-D Some of us actually go into the woods to *gasp* LIVE!
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