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
I see where you and Sam made it in "Outdoor Life", congradulations.
Real men leave the pepper spray at home and just carry a big knife to protect themselves from a bear attack. The key to successfully fighting off a bear with a knife is to go on the offensive, pounce on his back, and stab like you have never stabbed before.I commented to him...
I got a good chuckle from your preamble to the story.He responded...Some info on the bear...
Ministry estimated his age as 10 and he was under weight.
Tom,;~DIf I had know that information I could have titled the post:
Man stabs skinny 10 year old to death on canoe trip
Freeper of the year?
You've got my vote!
Awesome, incredible story! Glad you both are around to tell the story!
Thanks!
saved for later read!
I bet the fury that you attacked that bear with was the same rage you would have had if you feared for your childs life.
You are my new doggie hero!!
No way in hell I would sacrifice my dog either, if I didn't have a knife I would have tried to gouge his eyes out and snap his neck, grab it's naughty bits until one of us was dead.
A friend of mine told me a hunting story that still boggles my mind, I still wonder if it's true.
They go hunting in Pennsyvania often and he would hunt with a hard core hunter, a young guy, big and strong as hell. He said there was a bear passing underneath where they were and this guy jumped on the bears back and killed him with a huge hunting knife the way you did, the bear hadn't given them a threat yet, but this was the way he chose to "hunt" this bear.
Me, Jake, and my future boy Sonny congratulate you.
Man, you sure did a good job carving up that critter! Hat's off to you for your bravery.
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Any insult to poodles will be met with great ferocity. Jake has no problem roughing it up with Great Danes, his little brother will be a "manly" dog as well. (He's coming home in 3 weeks!!!)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1773155/posts
Unless they are long in the tooth and trained to associate humans with food through people feeding them, then you have a killing machine. Tell it to the Missasauga Surgeon who had to stand by and watch a black bear kill his wife
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He didn't have to stand by and watch the bear kill his wife, what a coward.
I had a friend who had 2 standard poodles. They are big strong smart dogs. I could be wrong, but I believe they were originally bred as hunting or working dogs?
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They are big strong dogs (I have one and am getting another puppy in 3 weeks, you can see my big strong guy on my homepage and search Bob is getting a new puppy for pictures of the pup)
They were originally used to retrieve ducks, etc. from water. That's where the wierd hair styles originated, the large poofs of hair where there to keep their vital organs warm while swimming.
They were also used as guide, working dogs in wars and many other capacities, I want my dogs to be therapy dogs.
He could have sacrificed himself or tried the Davy Crockett Wrassle. I am like you, a large rock or something would have come to hand. I at least would of pissed in the bears eyes.
Woulda been a lot easier with a .357 Magnum.
You've never been married have you?
Another reason I'm a BIG dog lover. I know we have a lot of cat lovers on here but you'll never see a cat doing the stuff these dogs do. Ok, cat people, you can hiss at me now.
holy....
I have to show my husband this. Glad you are okay and doggie is well too.
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