Pastor rescues his little dog from black bear attack right in the nick of time

As a dog owner, you just want your four-footer to be happy, content, and healthy. Dangerous situations should be avoided at all costs, but sometimes, they’re just inevitable. Dogs are often called a man’s best friend, and there are no lengths we wouldn’t go to protect them – something that this owner has definitely proven when he rescued his little pooch from a menacing black bear.

The owner of the small pup, 56-year-old paster Tim Stradling, said that his instincts and “stupid courage” kicked in to save his four-footer.

Tim Stradling - Facebook Source: Tim Stradling - Facebook

His dog listens to the name Peyton Manning, a reference to a pretty popular and large football player. Oen day, Stradling heard his pooch barking rather late in the evening, and he just had a feeling that something was wrong.

At first, however, he didn’t think that there was a serious issue. He got out of bed and went outside to check out the whole property. While he went outside, he was wondering what kind of small animal or critter had managed to sneak into the man’s backyard, but he certainly didn’t expect to see a huge black bear.

Wikimedia Commons Source: Wikimedia Commons

The black bear came out of nowhere and started attacking the poor nine-year-old pooch, dragging him with his teeth and running away.

The man didn’t have plenty of time to think and acted on pure instinct to save his beloved and trusty friend. Right away, the pastor started yelling very loud, trying to be intimidating. He was hoping that the bear would see him as a threat and release Peyton Manning out of shock, but that didn’t happen right away.

It was clear that the bear wasn’t too impressed with the pastor’s verbal attacks, and he wasn’t budging one bit.

Tim Stradling - Facebook Source: Tim Stradling - Facebook

However, the bear finally let the dog go when the pastor charged to attack him – but the bear wasn’t done yet.

It seemed like he was out for revenge, and the bear quickly turned around and charged both the little dog and his owner.

“When it charged me and I turned to run and fell after 3 steps I thought I was in trouble. Apparently black bears false- charge to scare you away. Thank God!” pastor Tim Stradling said to Tribune-Review.

Tim Stradling - Facebook Source: Tim Stradling - Facebook

Luckily, the bear wandered off and Stradling could take his injured dog to the emergency vet.

Of course, the poor four-footer was completely in shock and in pain due to multiple bite wounds. Peyton was bleeding profusely, but Stradling tried to keep his furry friend calm by singing him songs the whole time.

Tim Stradling - Facebook Source: Tim Stradling - Facebook

Tragically, some of the dog’s injuries were quite severe. The dog had a bone fracture and had to get one of his legs amputated.

https://www.facebook.com/timstradling/posts/10159067944172591

As for Stradling himself, he luckily didn’t suffer from any severe injuries. He had a couple of minor brush burns on his hands, but the bear wasn’t able to bite or hurt him. However, this could’ve easily ended up being a lot worse for the pastor, since he wasn’t shy of a bit of physical conflict. Owners would do anything to save their dog, even if it means putting their own safety in danger.

When the news about this heroic rescue spread throughout the news, pastor Stradling even got a special phone call from a certain person.

Wikimedia Commons - Gage Skidmore Source: Wikimedia Commons - Gage Skidmore

Even though he sees his dog Peyton Manning every day, he actually got a phone call from Mr. Peyton Manning, the football player! He wanted to thank the pastor for his heroic efforts, and also wanted to know how the dog was doing right now.

Tim Stradling - Facebook Source: Tim Stradling - Facebook

As for the four-footer, he is slowly but surely recovering. He’s “getting around and having good moments. He’s very sedate because of his meds,” according to Stradling.

What a brave rescue!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

https://www.facebook.com/timstradling/posts/10159023042617591

Source: Tim Stradling (Facebook), The Animal Rescue Site

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