Black bears are frequent visitors to Matt Burnett’s backyard in Mission, B.C.
“We shoo them away and they do their thing, they don’t often bother us too much,” said Burnett.
On Saturday, a bear breaking into the garbage shed got the attention of the family’s tiny four-year-old yorkie/chihuahua mix named Lincoln.
“Lincoln is – as small dogs are – they’re super aggressive. And they think that they’re, you know, the bee’s knees,” said Burnett.
So, Lincoln went charging after the back bear.
“The bear was there, he had moved out a garbage can and was just about to start going through it, and Lincoln runs after him,” said Burnett. “They kind of start to make it up the hill a little bit. Lincoln jumps back down, then goes back after the bear again. And, then as soon as the bear made one kind of little movement, Lincoln jumped off the hill. He did a little bit of a face plant onto the pavement, and then and then came back.”
Lincoln’s fearlessness didn’t surprise Burnett.
“I think he nipped at the bear’s ankle one time,” he said. “He was more of a nuisance to the bear than anything. Just constantly yapping. I mean, anybody that has a small dog can relate.”
Burnett’s video of the encounter quickly went viral.
“This morning when I checked it, it was at about 110,000 views or something like that. Some negative comments, and lots of people just saying he’s, you know, a brave little dog for running after the bear,” Burnett said.
While he would never encourage the five-pound pup to chase after a huge black bear, he’s relieved the encounter ended the way it did.
“He came back unscathed,” said Burnett. “And we’re happy for that.”
