DODGER'S DEN MOTHER A True Story - dog gets into a bear's den

Ranger Rick, March, 1999

Dodger the dog got into a safe, warm place. But then he couldn't escape!

Trouble started on a bone-chilling February day in Maine when Butch McCormick went out with Dodger, his beagle. Butch was hunting for rabbits. Dodger had other ideas.

The dog ran off along a deer trail. Butch ran after him but couldn't find him. Dodger was wearing a collar that sends a radio signal. Butch heard the signal on his hand-held receiver. He tried to get closer to it all that day--and the next. No luck. But he could tell the radio signal was coming from just one place, and that meant the dog wasn't moving. That worried Butch. Did it mean that Dodger had died? And even if he were still alive, how could the dog stay warm enough to survive in the cold Maine winter weather?

Butch searched all day on Saturday, and then again on Sunday. Finally he found Dodger's tracks. They led to a snow-covered brush pile. Butch went to the pile and called his dog. Dodger nosed out of the pile. But then Butch saw something very strange. A large, black paw reached out from the brush pile and pulled Dodger back in!

Dodger had somehow gotten into a black bear's den. Mama Bear must have decided that the dog was one of her cubs. She kept him tucked under her, safe and warm. The bear wasn't going to let one of her cubs out into the cold, no matter what!

Butch ran back home to get help from a game warden (wildlife officer). He and the warden went to the bear's den. They found the den's entrance--a small hole in the snow. They got a rope ready to lasso the dog and pull him out. Then Butch called, "Dodger!" The beagle appeared. So did Mama Bear's paw, pulling him back. No matter what they tried, the two men couldn't get Dodger away from Mama Bear.

The next day, Butch brought back four more helpers. One was a wildlife scientist, Alan Starr, with a dart full of sleeping medicine. Alan's plan was to jab Mama Bear, wait for her to go to sleep, and then call Dodger out.

But Dodger couldn't wait. When he heard all these people, he tried to rush out of the brush pile. Mama Bear gently put her mouth around Dodger's leg and tugged him back in. Another wildlife scientist, Sandy Ritchie, pulled the dog. Mama Bear tugged back. Pull, tug. Pull, tug. Finally Sandy got a good grip on Dodger's collar and pulled him free!

Now Mama Bear was moving. She crawled out of the brush pile and stared at the people. Then she trudged off for a few feet, stopped, and stared again. Finally she wandered off.

The people were worried. What would happen to the bear's real cubs? The weather was getting even colder. Would Mama come back soon? They bundled the cubs in blankets to keep them warm and left them in the den.

The next day, the wildlife scientists came back to check on the cubs. Inside the den was good Mama Bear, keeping the cubs safe and warm.

Mama Bear's story doesn't end there. About a month later, Sandy heard about a bear cub that had lost its mother. She wondered--would Mama Bear take care of another cub?

Taking the six-week-old orphan, Sandy went to the den where Dodger had been. It was empty! Mama Bear and her two cubs had moved out.

Sandy looked all around the area and finally found Mama Bear in another brush pile. Careully, Sandy lowered the young cub into the new den.

Then Sandy saw a familiar sight--the big, black paw, reaching up to pull in the cub. Mama Bear adopted another one! And this youngster seemed happy to stay.