Dachshunds make the news!

[Teresa]

This was in our local paper and I just had to share it with everyone! I could just imagine the dachshund barking at the base of the tree!

Black bear makes tracks in Easley
Dachshund keeps young male in tree until DNR arrives

Published: Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - 6:00 am


Lindsay Edmonds
STAFF WRITER
ledmonds@greenvillenews.com


David Thompson couldn't believe his eyes when a 125-pound black bear scrambled across the road in front of his truck.

Thompson is accustomed to seeing bears in the mountains of Pickens County while hunting but not in the streets of suburbia. "It sort of shocked me because I wasn't expecting to see a bear," Thompson said. "It surprised me to see one right there that close."

He was leaving Easley Palmetto Health Baptist when he saw the bear run across State 135 near Easley Pediatrics.

The hospital received a phone call around 9:30 p.m. from a visitor who reported seeing a bear on the hospital's fitness trails, according to Tammie Epps, hospital system spokeswoman.
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Employees responded by calling the Greenville Police Department and the game warden, but at that time no bear was found. After making trips around the city, the 11/2-year-old male bear climbed a tree in Ellen Youngblood's back yard.

Youngblood wasn't home when people started gathering and police cars rushed to the scene. But her dachshund kept the bear treed until the state Department of Natural Resources arrived.

The bear was tranquilized and transported back to the wild, according to Sgt. D.J. Riley with DNR.

"We would prefer not to tranquilize at all," Riley said. "We would prefer that it (the bear) move on by itself, but you can't keep the public from crowding around it."

Youngblood returned home just in time to see the commotion.

"They still had the bear in the cage. They had not taken it off at that time, and I wanted to see it," Youngblood said. "I went down to look at the bear. He was a little old black bear."

Riley said it is common this time of the year for the young male bears to come down from the mountains.

"The dominant males in the area are running these young juvenile males off, and they're trying to make their own territory," Riley said. "Our bear population is growing, and I think you're going to see more and more moving around residential areas."

Riley said last year there were two bears that came into the city of Easley and that he expects there will be at least one more sighting this year.

He said if a bear comes near your home, "just be glad you got to see one, but keep your distance."

Once the bear has left the area, the homeowner should take down anything that could attract the bear back, such as a bird feeder, pet food or garbage.

"If a person does that, the bear will have to move on," Riley said.

[Brekkesmom]

Mom and I were watching the news when the bear was shot with the tranks and fell out of the tree, but our local (St. Louis, MO) news did not mention that a dachsie kept him treed! :thumb:

[Barb]

I didn't see anything on our news.....but the doxie should have been "interviewed" - HA !!!

Thanks for posting this - very interesting !

[TerriL]

One of des days da hoomans will figure out dat we dachsies might be little but we are BRAVE!  Course, not in a thunderstorm...and not when we gots to get our toes chopped....and maybe not so brave when dey make us take da BAFFS!   
A bears just a bear though and wif dem...WE IS BRAVE! 

[Teresa]

Brave is definitely the right word. I just can't get the picture out of my mind. The bear up in the tree and the dachshund at the base of it, barking its head off if it even thinks of coming down. I only wish they had a picture to go along with the story.
The scary part of this is the number of bears that have been seen within a 50 mile radius of here in the last month or two. There was one about 3 weeks ago just 4 miles from where I live. At least I know where Schatzi is at all times!