Man speaks out after saving his family dog from bear attack

    VOLUSIA COUNTY, Florida (WSVN) -- A family is still recovering after a close encounter with a group of bears right outside their home in Orange City.

Blake Sprout said he was letting his dogs outside for a moment on Dec. 20 when he saw a trio of wild animals.

“I was just letting my dogs out to go to the bathroom, and as soon as I opened the door, there were three bears here,” he said. “And before I could stop my dogs, they just ran out to the bears.”

The bear attacked, causing Blake to run up to what he said was a juvenile bear and kick it, doing what he could to have the bear let go of his dog Karen. He was successful; however, the bear turned its attention to him.

“It dropped my dog and then attacked me and bit me in my stomach,” he said.

The bear then once again grabbed the dog and ran off, causing Blake to go after it.

“I picked up a couple of rocks just to throw in its direction and try to scare it away, and I guess that worked,” Blake said.

Karen managed to recover with several stitches that will be removed Friday.

Sprout is still on the road to recovery with a huge bruise on his stomach. He said he does not regret what he did.

“I did have to get a bunch of rabies shots just to be safe. It’s pretty swollen, but it should be all right,” he said. “I couldn’t let [Karen] die. She was screaming in pain.”

According to Blake, the Sprout family often sees bears in their neighborhood and usually keeps their distance. He sees this incident as a freak accident and is taking measures when he leaves his home going forward.

“I mean, I’m more cautious when I come outside, and I check before I walk out with the dogs,” he said.

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported that they have since captured the three cubs and adult female bear.

The animals were relocated elsewhere.