Video: Dog chases off black bear from Lino Lakes family's front yard
By WCCO News reporter Jason Rantala
LINO LAKES, Minn. – Family Dog's bear run-in caught on camera
Run-ins with bears are becoming more common this summer. Just ask Gevashia Sibell from Lino Lakes.
"I was in the backyard watering the grass and plants. That's when I saw the black bear behind the tree and Max was like 5 feet away from it and I was so scared," Sibell said.
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Her dog Max had one of those run-ins, fending off a 3-foot-tall bear – and it was all captured on their doorbell camera.
"Oh my gosh, my heart just like sunk, I was like Max was going to get hurt, I don't know what to do. Should I call the cops? Should I call my husband? I was just so scared," she said.
Eventually, Max scared off the bear, and it scurried off into the woods.
"My first time ever seeing a cub or a bear," she said.
Sibell and her husband Robert had the Border Collie mix for four years.
"We had him since he was a puppy, so if anything happened to him, I would just, I don't know what I would do without him," she said.
MORE: Black bear seriously injures woman outside cabin in Nisswa
He's been known to alert the family for things like deliveries, but never this.
Sibell said she'll let Max play guard dog more often when she goes outside, just in case there's another interaction with any other wildlife.
"I was just glad that Max was there with me to alert me when I was outside with him," she said.
If you encounter a bear, experts say don't run. Instead, slowly back away. Try to appear non-threatening or scare the bear off with shouts and noises.