Owner Pays Emotional Tribute After His Heroic Dog Died Protecting His Family From a Black Bear

Christabel Duah

A dog owner gave an emotional tribute to his elderly pup after it was killed by a bear while protecting the rest of his pack.

His owners were walking him and a group of other pooches in New York on Sunday when they came across a black bear. The bear likely didn’t hear or smell the group of pets due to the weather and turning around after it “felt threatened.”

“Pete stepped up and held off the bear until I could get the other dogs to safety,” said the pup’s owner. “Once I was sure they were safe, I went back and scared the bear off, but Pete was gravely injured.”

Along with his wife and a friend, they were able to get Pete, who “held on like a real trooper the whole time,” to a hospital, but severe spinal damage would likely leave him unable to walk. As a senior dog, Pete’s owners decided that since he might not even survive the initial surgery, it was “best to let him go.”

Below is an account from my husband of yesterdays pack walk. “Today we lost our brave, old man Pete. The dogs surprised a black bear just off the trail while we were hiking this morning. It must not have heard or smelled us with the pouring rain. It felt threatened and turned around. Pete stepped up and held off the bear until I could get the other dogs to safety. Once I was sure they were safe, I went back and scared the bear off, but Pete was gravely injured. I was able to get him back down to the main trail and, thanks to Cathi and Kate, we were able to get him in a car and to the hospital pretty quickly. He held on like a real trooper the whole time, and he was never alone in his pain. The x-rays revealed some pretty bad spinal damage that would mean he could never walk again, if he survived all the surgeries (not a certain thing at his age). We decided it was best to let him go this afternoon. Run free Pete, you no longer have all those aches and pains of old age. You had a great 18 months with us running the days away like you loved.” Please light a candle for Pete and remember that fostering and rescuing a dog can sometimes save you. Senior dogs have so much to give. Love you Petey. Save me some cheese for when we see each other again. ❤️?❤️

A post shared by Me & My Shadow Pets (@mmspets) on Feb 12, 2018 at 1:16pm PST

“Run free Pete, you no longer have all those aches and pains of old age,” the owners captioned the photo of their beloved pet. “You had a great 18 months with us running the days away like you loved.”

Adding, “Please light a candle for Pete and remember that fostering and rescuing a dog can sometimes save you. Senior dogs have so much to give. Love you Petey. Save me some cheese for when we see each other again. ❤?❤”

The adopted dog’s owners run a pet sitting company and on their business page, and after Pete’s story went viral, they took to social media to thank the public for their support.

My husband and I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love for #petethehero He was a senior dog that we adopted after fostering. His actions prove that no dog is too old to be abandoned or too lost to be loved. #oesr #rescuedogs #rainbowbridge pic.twitter.com/PdZ7gctJIB

— Me & My Shadow Pets (@mmspets) February 13, 2018

“I want everyone to know that I would trade all of this attention to just have one more day with Pete,” they shared on Facebook. “I think all of you know how much we love our dogs and all the animals that we care for so please squeeze your furry family tight tonight and give them a big kiss from ‘the lady.’”

Monday madness. Kaiser was super happy to be back in the pack after winter break. #mmspets #packwalk #losetheleash #packrules #gsp #englishsetter #englishlab #lab #dutchshepherd #rescuemutt

A post shared by Me & My Shadow Pets (@mmspets) on Jan 16, 2018 at 10:05am PST