Florida Man Fights Off Bear To Protect Dog, Gets Injured [VIDEO]

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Earlier this month, a man in Florida risked his own life to protect his dog by fighting off a bear that tried making its way onto his porch to attack the dog.

Ring doorbell camera footage showcased the harrowing moments where the man jumped into action immediately when this bear breached his porch.

As seen on the video, Walter Hickox is stepping outside of his front porch when a bear comes rushing up the porch to attack his 12-year-old dachshund named Pepper.

Hickox gets on the ground to the bear’s level, essentially wrestling the bear and pushing him off of the porch. Once the bear was past the porch doorway, Hickox moved a nearby bench to block the entrance.

Shortly thereafter, Hickox could be heard on video after going back inside the home saying, “Oh my God! I got attacked by a bear!”

When speaking about the incident to local news outlet WFTV, Hickox said all he cared about in that moment was protecting his wife and pets.

“Not a lot went through my head at the moment,” he told the news outlet, “other than what’s going to happen if he gets past me and into the house where the rest of my dogs and my wife was at.”

While none of Hickox pets were injured as a result of the incident, he himself was not so lucky to come out of the matter unscathed. Reportedly Hickox suffered puncture wounds and lacerations on his back and arms as a result of the bear’s teeth and claws.

However, said injuries were non-life threatening.

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission noted in a statement that authorities are searching for the bear in question due to it posing a threat to human safety.

This piece was written by Gregory Hoyt on January 24, 2022. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com and is used by permission.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LifeZette.