Man fights bear to save his best friend ‘Buddy’
“If it was your kid, what would you do? That’s my kid, I would die for my dog,” said Kaleb Benham.
Kaleb Benham was preparing for thanksgiving for the next day when he heard loud growls from outside his Grass Valley, Nevada County home.
Benham darted towards the alarming noise and found his 90 lb dog forcibly being dragged by a giant black bear. The bear had its jaws tightened around the pit bull's head, who was now nearly 75-100 ft away. With no time to waste, Benham ran towards the scene to rescue his beloved puppy.
Kaleb Benham, originally from Sacramento, rescued Buddy from a shelter, reported the Dailymail.
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Honestly, the only thing I could think of was "save my baby" Benham stated to CBS Sacramento. He then goes on to explain the whole incident; how he was ready to jump in without giving it a second thought.
Benham grabbed the giant bear by its neck and repeatedly punched its face until it was forced to let go of Buddy. He then raced his severely injured dog to the veterinarian. Unfortunately, the bear had already done significant damage by the time the pup was rescued.
To make matters worse, the closest veterinarian's offices was closed due to the ongoing pandemic. Benham was able to take Buddy to Mother Lode Veterinary Hospital where he underwent a three hour emergency surgery, reports Dailymail.
"I just stood there and watched through the window for three and a half hours," Benham said.
The bear had pierced Buddy's lip and left deep lacerations on his head as well as teeth marks all over. He left the hospital with multiple stitches for his wounds, staples for his torn up ears along with a tube which was used to drain the fluid that had accumulated inside his head.
Fortunately, the strong pup has been making a speedy recovery since.
"It made an attack and had its food and its food got taken from it and it wants it back, I feel like" says Benham in a later statement where he talks about the predator coming back on multiple occasions. He also mentions that he isn't sure how to keep it from returning but was immensely relieved that he was able to save his dog.
"If it was your kid, what would you do? That's my kid, I would die for my dog," said Kaleb Benham.
Since then, Benham's sister, Katelyn, has set up a Go Fund Me in order to cover the medical charges which has already raised $2,278.
