One family's dog came face-to-face with a black bear in Cohasset, Massachusetts, on Monday, and it was all caught on camera.
The homeowner tells NBC10 Boston it was quite a surprise to see a bear like that in their yard. Their 110-pound Great Pyrenees is mostly fur who spends much of his time outdoors. But he almost dug himself into a hole when he faced off with a black bear in their yard.
"I was just reading the paper, looked over my shoulder at some motion and I'm like, WOW, there's a black bear walking right through the yard," Vincent Dunn said.
Dunn says before he could grab Lars, the dog had already spotted the bear at their home off Jerusalem Road on Monday afternoon.
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"The bear was growling actually but Lars was wagging his tail and kind of doing the sort of standard big dog greeting and then I grabbed him," Dunn said.
Dunn says they have an electric fence around the yard, which he believes kept the dog about four feet away from the bear.
"I kind of knew to go get him because I don't think they would've been friendly if they spent much more time together and I don't think that would've been good for either of them because he's a giant dog and he's a big bear," Dunn said.
The Cohasset Police Department posted photos on social media of a bear being spotted all around town, checking out the scenery, walking along the tracks and across yards -- even with a police escort at times.
Dunn says they watched as the bear in their yard walked along the wall before swimming across the pond heading towards Hull.
It was a big day for the Dunn family, but not so much for Lars, who didn't seem phased by any of it.
"He's asleep under the hydrangeas now, he's like eh this happens all the time," Dunn said. "I'm nervous as heck but he's cool."
Police said if you see the bear, you don't need to call them unless it's a hazardous situation for you or the bear.
Earlier in the day, Cohasset police posted a picture of the bear on social media, saying they ensured a safe passage for their furry friend along North Main Street.
Police asked residents to give the South Shore bear plenty of room as he headed towards Hingham.
It's just the latest in a line of bear sightings nearby. A black bear was spotted in a Newton neighborhood on June 11, prompting police to issue an advisory to residents after the animal was caught on camera running through someone's front yard, very close to two parked vehicles and the house's front door.
The next day, school was delayed for an hour in Arlington as authorities worked to track down a bear spotted in the town. Later in the day, the bear was spotted on Pleasant Street in Lexington around Wilson Farm, where video captured by NBC10 Boston showed the animal roping around outside near a greenhouse on Tuesday.
The bear watch was back on a few days later when Needham residents spotted a bear wandering the streets Thursday and Friday.
And there was incredible video out of Sunapee, New Hampshire, a day earlier, where a hungry black bear hopped into a work truck, chomping down on part of a worker's lunch as it hung out the passenger's side window.
American Plate Glass joked on Facebook that "Barry" the bear had unfortunately been terminated from their company due to stealing, work out of uniform, and having "bear" feet in the glass industry.
"OSHA frowns on these infractions," the company wrote in jest.
