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
OMG! I just saw the picture of the remains of the bear! You and Sam really had your work cut out for you!
Oweee, oweee, oweee. Poor Sam. The previous photos had not shown his injuries. Please give him a big hug for me. And a couple of treats.
You said: One of my gals makes a gift of her balls. She offers them up in great affection. She lays them on my husbands side of the bed, occasionally on the pillow.
+* +* +* +*
Are they slobbery tennis balls?
They do bring smiles everyday.
I was visiting friends not long ago, and as we sat in the living room, their three dogs competed with each other the first half hour of the visit to see who could shove their way closest to me for petting. Finally they had all gotten their fill and went and laid down. In their minds, I had come there to see *them*. Three doggies in the living room can be a whole lot of canine energy.
(Am allergic to cats, though, so am not able to have a hands-on meet-n-greet at cat owners' homes. The folks I was visiting didn't have kitties, thankfully.)
jm
I think you people better learn how to comprehend.....caling people names out of assumptions shows immaturity. Now get your posse here to attack me again since no one here can fight by themselves. Yes....he was dumb to be alone and 2 days away from civilization ....and yes....I feel some dogs should be banned in certain areas. If you'd like, I'll send you tons of stories about pitbulls attacking kids...and you can talk to my brothers friend who lost big chunks of his arm from his beloved rottie who turned on him suddenly and chewed up his arm. You guys are happy that this bear was killed becuz it was attacking a dog.....but are happy that pit bulls and rotties are killing people? Wow.
>>>I'll send you tons of stories about pitbulls attacking kids...
Just not on this thread please.
>>>You guys are happy that this bear was killed becuz it was attacking a dog....
We are proud because the bear was killed becuz it was attacking Tom and his dog.
Well...he's brave that's for sure, and of course I'm glad he survived. But, I still don't think it's smart for anyone going off in the woods alone---'2 days away from civilization'.
>>>>Well...he's brave that's for sure, and of course I'm glad he survived.
Bump!
"My husband was attacked by a great blue heron while fishing. Let's ban those too :P"
That would have been a hilarious thing to watch. Probably scary for him though.
Nice picture of Sam on the front of The Globe and Mail...
http://images.theglobeandmail.com/v5/images/newspaper/20060725/sectionA-490.jpg?d=20060725
What a story! Thanks for sharing it.
"But, I still don't think it's smart for anyone going off in the woods alone---'2 days away from civilization'."
Are you kidding me? I treasure those moments.
A portage is land between two lakes or rivers. You carry your canoe and supplies across the portage to get to the next body of water.
You want to outlaw camping?
He appears capable of totally relaxing, too. (judging from the photo)
Please let us know how he recovers.
LOL!
HaHa. I laughed out loud after reading that.
Great job, kanawa. Amazing story. Just be glad you're not in England. I don't think they allow knives there. Again, Great Job!
BTW-Colbert-“When you’re hiking, you put this little bell on your clothes and it jingles. That makes the bears think it’s Christmas, which they hate because they are godless killing machines.”
Then why are they banned in some areas of Europe, USA and Canada?
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