Maple Grove woman describes harrowing moments watching bear chase her dog
MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — If you ever needed a reminder to keep your trash cans inside your home unless it's pick up day, just watch the surveillance video from outside Bailey Jacobson's home.
A few days earlier, she and her dog Zeus went to check on her husband who normally is working in the garage. He wasn't there, but a burly and surprising trio was nearby.
There was a noise near the trash cans by the garage, so Zeus went to investigate. Digging through the garbage was a bear and her two cubs.
"The bears really blended in with our black trash cans," she said.
A barking Zeus attracted the mother bear, leading it on a chase down the driveway. Jacobson, worried about what could happen to her dog, screamed and ran after both of them to get the bear's attention. The cubs had scurried off in a different direction.
Once the mother bear stopped running, Jacobson bolted back toward her home for safety. The bears eventually left, but she was still worried about Zeus.
"Kind of around the bend a little bit, I see his little ears two ears poke out the side of the end of our driveway from the woods and of course I just start bawling because I don't know what happened," she said. Zeus came running and both were ok.
Minutes earlier, her cell phone was pinging with notifications from her surveillance cameras. It showed the three bears on her driveway, but Jacobson just so happened to miss the warning. She called her husband, who was at a neighbor's home, and 911.
Besides the trash cans, it appeared the bears had other reasons to visit the home recently.
"I had a bird feeder and I realized that bird feeder was gone that morning. And I found that to be really interesting," she said.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said it's not uncommon for people to see bears across the metro. New home developments, combined with bear territory moving closer to the Twin Cities in recent years, is why sightings are happening more often.
Experts want people to follow the following steps to protect themselves and their homes:
- Never feed or approach bears.
- Keep your trash indoors unless it's pick-up day.
- Remove bird feeders.
- Never leave pet food outside.
- Clean your grills.
- Alert your neighbors if you've seen a bear so they can stay safe.