An extremely lucky Yukon woman recently survived a bear attack thanks to her trusty canine companion and an unexpected self-defense accessory. APTN tells us that Vanessa Chaput was running with her dog, Luna, on June 30 when the harrowing incident occurred. Three grizzly bears appeared in her path, dangerously close to the woman and her pooch. Unfortunately, it was already too late for her to try and distance herself from the animals.
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Immediately, Luna jumped into action. This protective pooch managed to escape her leash and scared off two of the three creatures. Unfortunately, that left the third bear free to attack the Yukon woman. However, unbeknownst to Vanessa, she still had one weapon left in her arsenal.
Who knew a hair clip could be such a life-saver?
“When the bear had taken me down with my head in its mouth, my first thought was just kind of protect your vitals, so I went straight into the fetal position,” she recalled.
At the time, Vanessa was wearing a large, plastic claw clip in her hair. When this item broke inside the bear’s mouth, it startled the creature. This gave the woman an opportunity to escape. Although she wasn’t able to get far, Luna came to the rescue before the bear had another chance to attack the Yukon resident.
“If it wasn’t for my dog barking, the bear was going to come finish the job,” Vanessa said.
Even now, the woman is still recovering from the attack. Her injuries were serious enough that she had to remain in the hospital for at least two weeks.
“I have puncture wounds all up in my arm,” she explained. “I have a broken bone. I have a lot of nerve damage in that area and then my tricep was torn in two places.”
Still, Vanessa said that she bears no ill will toward the Yukon bears who attacked her. This Kaska woman (a First Nations people in the area) is no stranger to these creatures, especially because of her upbringing.
“I have a really good respect for them,” the survivor said. “Just because growing up with my dad and everything. When you go hunting you’re in bear country, things are going to happen. And we have run into bears in the past.”
According to CTV News, three bears suspected of being involved in the attack on the Yukon resident were later euthanized.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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