They say that a dog is a man’s best friend, but sometimes, it works the other way around as well. Best friends always have each other’s back, even in dangerous situations like the one Kaleb Benham and his four-footer encountered.
One day, Kaleb’s 90-lb pit bull Buddy got scared off by the sounds of a growling bear, and the fierce animal seemed very interested in the dog.
The pet owner told CBS News that his dog was simply playing around outside of the home, one day before Thanksgiving. Kaleb was still inside but ran outside as soon as he heard the bear growling. Of course, the first thing he did was check up on Buddy, and that’s when his heart completely sank.
A massive bear was attacking and dragging Buddy by his head, and it was clear that the pit bull wasn’t winning this fight.
“Honestly, the only thing I could think of was ‘save my baby,’” Buddy’s owner told CBS News.
With complete disregard for his own life, Kaleb decided to get involved in the fight with his bare hands, just so his pit bull would have the opportunity to get out of the altercation alive.
Right away, Kaleb decided to jump onto this 350 lb. monster and tried to beat him.
Absolutely crazy? Perhaps. But this man would do anything to save his best friend.
“I just ran down there, plowed into the bear, tackled it and grabbed it by the throat and started hitting it in the face and the eye until it let go,” he recalled.
Thanks to Kaleb’s intervention, the bear let go of Buddy’s head, but the poor dog wasn’t out of the woods just yet.
Buddy was severely injured, particularly his face and ears were in a very dire condition. The bad luck also didn’t end there: the closet veterinary hospital was shut down because there was a positive COVID case out there, and the whole place was closed and put in quarantine.
At this point, Kaleb believed that his dog wouldn’t make it through.
“My first thought was that I was going to lose him,” the man said.
He continued driving to a veterinary hospital further away, the Mother Lode Veterinary Hospital in Grace Valley.
Right away, Buddy was rushed into the operation room, since the situation was critical. Kaleb had to wait more than three hours, probably the longest three hours of his life.
The dog’s ears had to be stapled to his head, and there were numerous stitches involved. There was also fluid in the dog’s head that needed to be drained via a tube. Buddy’s ear was almost completely lost, but luckily, the bear only bit very close to it, just an inch away.
Even though the operation couldn’t come sooner, Buddy is now expected to make a full recovery.
They were even able to spend Thanksgiving together the next day, even though both of them had to rest.
Unfortunately, it seems as if this bear isn’t done with Kaleb and Buddy just yet, because he’s returned to the home multiple times.
A man’s love for man’s best friend is a powerful force. Kaleb Benham from Grass Valley took on a 350 pound bear that was attacking his rescue dog, “Buddy.” Kaleb said he heard a growl the saw the bear dragging buddy “by his head.” So he tackled the bear and punched it pic.twitter.com/XAhTrS2AEC
— Anna Giles (@AnnaGilesTV) December 4, 2020
“It made an attack and had its food and its food got taken from it and it wants it back, I feel like,” Benham said.
Kaleb’s brave story went viral on Twitter, and hundreds of people praised the man for his efforts to save his friend.
“I love that he said if it was your kid what would you do. His dog is his kid. I feel the same way about my dogs. I love them more than I do people. So glad the dog is ok. God Bless,” someone responded.
Someone even wanted to chip in to buy something that would make Buddy’s life more comfortable.
“Does the dog have a GoFundMe page or Amazon wishlist? There is a great blow up neck ring that will be far more comfortable available on Amazon.”
“That poor baby. The love he had for his family member was greater than his fear of the bear. I would have done anything to save my dog. What a lucky dog for having such a loving owner.” another person wrote.
Be sure to check out Kaleb and Buddy’s story in the video below.
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