Next time you start to feel sorry for a bear because it's being exploited by some weirdos for other weirdos' entertainment, just read this sentence: "I could feel his teeth against my skull."
Joe Azougar was just hanging out on the porch of his tiny cabin in Somewhere Remote, Canada, enjoying his breakfast when all of a sudden a bear almost ate him.
"Out of nowhere, I could hear this thud, this vibration on the ground. Then there was this bear coming towards me," Azougar recalled.
His dog, a German shepherd, rushed at the bear. As the two animals fought each other, Azougar ran into the cabin and slammed the door.
That is a helluva block quote— a helluva block quote—and it cannot hold a candle to the next one.
Moments later, the bear, having killed the dog, was back at the cabin.
"He started rushing the window, breaking the window and chipping off wood beside the window," said Azougar.
"He made it through (the window) and I ran out," he said. The bear followed him out.
"After about 30 metres, he took me to the ground." Azougar said the animal slammed him down with its front paws and began clawing and biting.
"He knocked me down and I covered my head. He took my shoulder apart, then he peeled the skin off my head and started biting my skull," Azougar remembered.
Azougar goes into even more graphic detail about the attack and the only reason he's able to is thanks to two campers who heard him screaming. Two women just happened to be driving close enough to hear him and approached the cabin in the car. Azougar said he was about to pass out when the bear relented some and he heard a car horn.
They were able to scare it off and drive Azougar to the hospital where he required over 300 stitches, many presumably to his skull. He's going to be in the hospital for a while, but he's got good drugs so he feels OK.
While it sounds like Azougar will be OK physically, no amount of morphine can replace the emotional loss of a loved one. Hopefully he can find some comfort in the thought of his dog's unwavering bravery and loyalty.
Photo Credit: Sudbury Star
h/t GourmetSpud
Campers rescue man from bear attack [Sudbury Star]