A man pulled his girlfriend from a bear’s jaws on Wednesday night at the base of Stratton Mountain Ski Resort in Vermont, WNYT reported.
After Sarah Dietl let her dog — a Shih Tzu named Bodhi — outside, the dog chased a bear cub up a tree, which prompted the mother bear to then attack Sarah at around 10:00 p.m., according to WYNT.(Bear Breaks Into Tennessee Cabin, Brutally Attacks Man Inside)
Vermont woman survives bear attack https://t.co/YWimkUPcKS
— WNYT NewsChannel 13 (@WNYT) November 4, 2022
“I think I tried to fight, but I just ended up in a fetal position trying to protect my head,” Dietl recalled. “Thankfully Bobby came out in time, and he pulled the bear off me with a flashlight.”
Robert “Bobby” Montuoro hit the bear with a flashlight and then pulled Dietl inside the foyer of the condominium to keep her safe. Bodhi and the mother bear then ran away.
Dietl received 15 staples in her head and stitches in her face. She also had a gash on her hip and scrapes and bruises all over her body.
“It’s easy for me to get mad at the bear for mangling my girlfriend and us going through this, but [we humans are] asking for it,” Montuoro said.
“We’re on the Green Mountain Forest. We’re guests and we’re building these properties and we get mad at them when they show up,” Montuoro continued. “Neither one of us want to hurt an animal. I feel bad for hitting the bear.”
Bodhi returned home after the couple posted a reward for his return.